Finding
by neon-elixir
Summary: A new Reikai case involving Botan's past. She'll try her best to keep it a secret but all she's doing is adding fuel to someone's fire.
1. Chapter 1  The Missing Documents

Chapter I

**The Missing Documents**

Just about anyone would say that one of the most beautiful things in the world is the view of the setting sun. When the sky bathes in a combination of purple, pink, and orange and right in the center of that is the blazing sun that's screaming out 'Here I am! Watch me before I disappear into the night!', only a few have the tendency to look away.

Whether coming home from work or going out for a few drinks with some friends, the life of the person whose eyes were caught by this magnificent sight would go in a standstill, and even if some might contest against this well known opinion of the sunset or not, the setting sun will always be one of the perfect backdrops for a romantic scene.

Botan was cruising over the human world flying westward and she couldn't help but giggle when she recalled the little kissing scene that Yusuke and Keiko had just recently.

Yusuke, after staying in the demon world for almost three years, suddenly popped out of nowhere and with the same view of the golden sun infront of Botan which was now slowly sinking into the horizon, the complicated relationship between Yusuke and Keiko was _somehow_ finally sealed with a kiss.

The sunset was one of Botan's favorite things and as a deity of death who has the ability to fly by summoning an oar that enables her to, she considered it a perk to be able to see the setting sun from the sky and not be blocked by buildings or high structures and after the thing with Yusuke and Keiko, watching the sunset made her even more happier.

Botan's expression suddenly turned cat-like, smiling slyly as she thought of turning her errand of delivering a new mission to Yusuke into a surprise visit by showing up at his Ramen store or at his house wanting to catch him and see if he's spending more time with Keiko.

Being the nonchalant bubbly grim reaper that she is, Botan's mind jumped from Yusuke and Keiko _formally_ dating, to them getting married and to them having kids but she instantly snapped out of it when a strong gush of wind almost tipped her off her oar and an old document she's carrying slipped from her hands.

She quickly dove to recover it and she started freaking out as pages of the documents started to detach themselves from the spine of the book that contained them. Botan tried to gather them one by one as she continued to drop from the sky but aside from the difficulty of actually getting her hands on the pages that were flying all over the place, she also needed to be careful not to rip it apart once she gets them because the document appears to be a couple of hundred years old and if she damages them, she'll be the one who's going to be ripped to shreds by Koenma.

"Thank goodness!" Botan exclaimed in relief when she finally caught the body of the book and gathered all of the fragile sheets. She was about to congratulate herself in accomplishing what she just did when she slammed into the ground, in the middle of a baseball field, crushing the ancient book beneath her.

* * *

><p>"Where is it? I placed it right here." Koenma grumbled through his pacifier as he lifted and pushed aside the piles of paper on his desk.<p>

"Uuuh… What are you looking for Lord Koenma?" George the ogre couldn't help but ask when he noticed that his boss seemed to be having a hard time finding something, noticing as well that Koenma seemed a bit off when he continued to look for that something at the very same spot where he had already looked at.

"The documents from the Houjin town incident, I placed it right here!" Koenma yelled in frustration, slamming his small right hand on his desk.

George backed out a bit. He sure was used to Koenma's temper but at that instance, his tiny boss really looked upset.

"D-do you mean the old brown book?" George asked.

"Yes I mean that old brown book! The Houjin incident happened seven hundred years ago, of course it was documented in that old brown book!"

"Hey now, no need to get mad Lord Koenma. Botan took that thing a while ago. I mentioned to her that you wanted to have Yusuke and the others look into that and she was glad to take it to them herself. No need to worry about it anymore, Botan's on it. That's one work off your hands now right?" George gladly informed him, emphasizing on the fact that he has one less manuscript to go through that day.

"Whaaat?" Koenma yelled, his voice echoing inside his office. "Didn't I specifically tell you to give the book to Ayame?"

George trembled in fear and he sputtered as he tried to explain himself. "B-B-But., Botan's the one who's well acquainted with Urameshi and his friends; wouldn't it make sense if she was the one who delivered the book?"

Koenma groaned in frustration, this was no time to be arguing with an incompetent underling.

With one piercing look, he sent George running out of his office and to Koenma's slight relief, Ayame, the black haired ferry girl appeared before him.

"Lord Koenma, my apologies for not being able to gather the documents as soon as you have ordered them to be delivered to Urameshi-san." Ayame said, unable to look straight into Koenma's face.

Koenma eased himself on his chair and with a serious tone, he addressed Ayame. "Head off and find Botan as soon as possible. Get the Houjin documents from her and tell her to deliver these to Genkai instead." He said, handing some random folder to Ayame. "If in case, Botan has already delivered the documents to Yusuke, make sure that she will not be able to know the contents of it and insist that she go to Genkai immediately." He added then he drew out a VHS tape from the drawer of his desk and gave it to Ayame as well. "Give this to Yusuke too."

"Understood." Ayame said, her face determined to please Koenma to make up for her lapse just moments ago. But as she vanished to carry out Koenma's orders, she couldn't help but wonder why Koenma was so determined not to have Botan be the one who deliver the Houjin documents to Urameshi and the others.

_George did have a point_. Ayame thought. Although she hadn't shown herself when Koenma yelled out her name in the middle of his temperamental outburst, she was able to hear George's excuse on allowing Botan to leave with the documents; Botan was much more acquainted to the Reikai Tantei compared to her.

She wondered if it may be because the document was hundreds of years old and Botan, she must admit, can be a bit clumsy and the risk of the documents being damaged by her is too great- but then, Botan had already proven herself as one of the most reliable and dedicated employees in the Spirit world countless of times so that might not be Lord Koenma's reason at all. And aside from that, why doesn't he want Botan to know the contents of the Houjin documents?

Ayame quickly tried to put the questions out of her mind recalling that her purpose for heading to the human world is to fulfill Koenma's orders and not to question them.

Following the most probable path that Botan took to go to Urameshi's house, Ayame kept a watchful eye for her blue haired colleague.

* * *

><p>"Ouch- ouch-ouch…" Botan whimpered as she picked herself from the ground. She wasn't supposed to feel any pain but as she was nearing Yusuke's house, she was slowly changing into her human form and if her transformation would've been complete, she would have surely felt more pain and died with her soul going to the Spirit world, then a report regarding a death deity dying would be filed-and that's just messed up.<p>

The sky was beginning to darken and Botan hurriedly fixed herself, brushing off the dirt from her hair and pink kimono then she pulled out the oar from the ground which struck the baseball field like a spear when she fell down from the sky.

From where Botan crashed, it appears that she was just about four kilometers away from Yusuke's house. As she turned to leave the place, she felt her foot step on something smooth and pliable and her eyes grew wide when she realized what it was.

"Nyaaa!" She screamed in horror, quickly lifting her foot from the old brown book she stepped on and picking it up with outmost care from the ground.

The book was bent on several places that it looked like a useless piece of nothing. After making sure that she got all the pages that got torn off from it. She ran to a nearby bench and sat there, nervously figuring out a way on how she would put the ancient document back together and how she'd be able to iron out all the bents and folds on it.

She decided to arrange the pages first, scanning the first and last words on each delicate sheet to see which page should follow which as they were not numbered.

Botan was losing her source of light but the lamp post beside the bench she was sitting on flickered and came on. From the looks of it, the document seemed to consist of narratives from different people and without actually reading each of them, Botan could clearly tell that they were accounts gathered from humans who were reporting a certain demon that once dominated a town called Houjin.

Since the leaves of the book were bound by adhesive on the spine, Botan resorted to just slipping the torn pages inside the book and she almost cried when she realized how useless this endeavor would be since all of those said torn sheets are sticking out slightly and if Koenma would see what she did to the book, she's done for.

Although useless, Botan continued what she was doing and she finally managed to sort the pages after a few minutes. But while she was flipping through the book to place the last sheet that got torn from it, her interest was caught by a passage that was written on the third to the last page of the book.

… _The demon Nue refused to be brought to hell and as he attempted to strike upon the great King Enma, one of soldiers of Reikai slashed him with a sword and the demon's bowels spilled from his wound. And there among the demon's blood and entrails we found the spirit of his last victim._

_The soul that was freed from Nue was that of a young girl, with fair skin and light blue hair. We have heard of Nue's insatiable craving for human flesh but for a human spirit who had stayed long inside the demon's stomach, the considerable amount of ki coming from her and her strange appearance denotes that she was not an ordinary human when she was alive._

_The incapacitated Nue was finally sent to hell and on king Enma's orders, the soul of the young girl was kept under the care of the head death deity, Nakatsu…_

For some strange reason, Botan's heart skipped a beat after reading that section of the Houjin documents and her hands trembled over the open book. This document she's carrying, and the passage she just read, was it referring to... her?

Botan instantly rejected the notion but that did not stop her from going over a couple of facts;

The very first thing that she could remember when she came to was the face of a beautiful woman named Mistress Nakatsu.

Mistress Nakatsu was the head death deity who trained her on the duties of being a guide to the Spirit world.

Botan does not know anyone else in the Spirit world that goes by the name of Nakatsu and aside from herself, she does not know any other girl who had blue hair.

"_No, this book could be referring to someone else" _Botan thought, shaking her head. _"How old is this book anyways?" _She turned to the cover of it and saw that it was about seven hundred years old. She sighed, the book could not possibly be referring to her at all, it may have been mentioning the same Nakatsu that she knew but she's not the blue haired girl. She had been a death deity for some time now but she's definitely not seven hundred years old.

"You klutz!" Botan said loudly. "What you should worry about is how you'd fix this book!" She said with an awkward smile as she tried to smooth down the book to an acceptable appearance. But unsurprisingly enough, she went through the book again looking for more information regarding the blue haired girl.

Scanning the last three pages as quick as she can, with her index finger trailing downwards on each page, she looked for any 'blue' word on them that would indicate further details on the spirit of the blue haired girl but she found none.

Botan bit her lip as she finally closed the book, continuing with flattening the bent surface of it but this time, she was doing it aimlessly. She was no longer thinking about what kind of punishment the Spirit world is going to give her for destroying an ancient document, all she could think about at the moment was who the blue haired girl in the Houjin document was and what was she really before she turned into a guide of departed souls.

Not until today had Botan questioned the source of her existence.

She was pondering at this for about a minute or so, looking straight into the dark, empty baseball field when the ghostly figure of Ayame appeared before her.

Botan let out a terrified high pitched scream then she herself placed her kimono sleeve covered hands over her mouth when she realized she's going to get someone's attention and that there was no reason for her screaming since it was only Ayame who had shown up.

"Botan. What are you doing with those documents?" Ayame asked, eyeing the Houjin documents cautiously.

"Oh, it's only you, Ayame. I thought it was a ghost that showed up!" She jokingly said to hide her embarrassment.

"Lord Koenma has been looking for those. Give them to me Botan." Ayame said bluntly.

"Do you mean this? Please don't tell Lord Koenma what I did to it. Look." She said, putting up the bent up documents before her.

"Oh my…" Ayame couldn't help but be concerned on the condition of the Houjin documents, but then, the most important thing was, "You haven't' read that have you?" She asked, in a tone careful not to raise suspicion from Botan who would probably dive in and read the documents once she learns or feels that she is prohibited from doing so.

Botan shook her head. "No I haven't" she said._ 'At least not all of it.' _She thought to herself.

"Please give them to me, Botan. I need to deliver them to Urameshi-san at once." Ayame said.

"No!" Botan cried out and Ayame's apprehension showed on her usually passive face due to her fellow ferry girls' abrupt reaction. Will she have to force Botan into giving her the book?

"Ayame, I'm sorry for yelling…" Botan quickly said when she saw the look on Ayame's face thinking that she had offended her with what she said. "… It's just that, I don't want you to be blamed that you're the one who did this to the book so… I feel like I should just give this to Yusuke… ", Botan explained. "Then I'll tell Lord Koenma that it was him who destroyed this!" She then added with a wide devious grin.

Ayame smiled in spite of herself and in a gentle tone, she started explaining that it was her who had been specifically assigned by Lord Koenma to deliver the documents to Urameshi and his friends and that Koenma was disappointed that she had not done it immediately and that she does not want Lord Koenma to think that she was trying to disappoint him further by not getting the documents from her.

"Lord Koenma also told me to give you this." Ayame said, handing Botan a relatively newer file that was addressed to Master Genkai.

"I really am sorry about this Ayame. I thought I was helping out, I didn't mean to make you look bad to Lord Koenma." Botan said ruefully as she accepted the new documents and handed the old damaged one to Ayame. Lately, Botan had noticed that Ayame was showing a certain partiality towards Koenma and she would never want to be the person who would ruin all chances of romantic bond between two people.

"I'll head off now, Ayame." Botan finally said, sitting down on her floating oar and Ayame did the same. The two death deities then parted ways, Botan headed northwards and Ayame flew towards the west.


	2. Chapter 2  Ramen and Demons

Chapter II

**Ramen and Demons**

The news that Ayame was able to catch up with Botan and that she was able get the Houjin documents from her has brought complete relief to Koenma and he slouched on his seat behind his desk even more. George was permitted to enter his office again and the two of them were back on their usual work flow of yelling at one another regarding files that need to be sorted and signed.

Meanwhile, Ayame didn't find Yusuke at his house so she headed to his Ramen shop. There she found not only him but Kuwabara, Shizuru and Yukina as well. Since the other three were technically a part of Urameshi's circle of allies, Ayame found no reason why she needed to be wary around them and since no one else was around, she handed the frayed book and the VHS tape to Yusuke while they were there.

"A new mission from Lord Koenma, Urameshi-san." She said simply.

With no intentions on staying long, Ayame sat back down on her oar, getting ready to fly off but she was stopped by Yusuke. "Where's Botan? How come she's not the one giving me these?" He asked. "And what's your name again?"

"Botan was sent to Master Genkai's temple by Lord Koenma so I was sent here instead. My name is Ayame." She informed Yusuke and the others politely then she tried to head off again but Yusuke asked her another question.

"Hey, I'm going to be paid for this mission right?"

"Well I…" Ayame didn't know what to say. For one, she doesn't really know if the Spirit world would pay Urameshi and unlike Botan, Ayame does not really know how to interact with Urameshi and his friends.

"Dude, come on…" Kuwabara said disapprovingly. He can easily sense that the new ferry girl was uncomfortable around them and Yusuke was being too straightforward, asking about money.

"Hey, I need to earn some cash okay? I can't just sit around serving free ramen whenever you come here!"

Kuwabara rose from his seat. "What do you mean by free? I always pay everytime I eat here, on top of that I need to pay you whenever I ask for extra vegetables on my ramen and I think you're purposely putting few ingredients on mine!"

And the typical senseless spat between Yusuke and Kuwabara started at that point that left Ayame staring at them completely perplexed and she did not know whether she should just leave or stop the two from bickering.

"Don't mind those two idiots over there." Shizuru said coolly. "But you know, it wouldn't be bad if someone did hand _us_ some cash from time to time for doing these types of missions from the Spirit world…"

"Right you are, Shizuru!" Yusuke yelled in the middle of giving Kuwabara a punch in the face.

"Hey! What do you mean by us? It's not like you're actually doing some Spirit detective work everytime there's a case!" Kuwabara said as he avoided Yusuke's fist.

Yukina, who was sitting in between Shizuru and Kuwabara, couldn't help but smile at what was going on. She had been so used to Kuwabara and his friends that it would be quite strange if what was occurring at the moment did not happen at all.

"Ayame-san, you should really try some of Yusuke-san's ramen." She said with a friendly smile.

Ayame smiled back but she declined Yukina's offer. "I should really be going now. I believe all the information you need is in the tape." She said and then she was off, flying into the dark blue sky.

"Hey you!" Yusuke growled at Kuwabara. They were grabbing each other collars and staring maniacally into each other's eyes. "Let me watch that tape at your house and I'll make sure you'll get all the free ramen that you want."

"Damn it! Don't drag me into this." He replied back, pointing at the messed up book and the VHS tape that was lying on the shop counter. "I'm taking summer classes and it'll start in a week. I have no time for Spirit world cases!"

"Did I say that you need to come with me? I just want to watch the tape at your house because my player's busted and I don't even know if I'm going to take this job much less ask you to help me with it!"

"You have a new case?" A familiar voice suddenly caused everyone to turn around and see who spoke.

"Oi, Kurama. Nice of you to drop by!" Kuwabara greeted him although he's having difficulty turning his head since Yusuke is still grabbing him by the neck.

"Hello everyone." Kurama said, smiling. He was wearing a beige double breasted coat, his two hands inside its pockets. "What are you two doing?" He then asked noticing that Kuwabara and Yusuke seemed to be in a middle of an argument and neither one is willing to let each other go.

"You know, the usual. How's everything going?" Shizuru answered in behalf of everyone as she lit a stick of cigarette.

"Fine." Kurama answered briefly. "Well to tell you the truth. I'm a little bit bored." He said with a sigh then he sat down with the others. "To be specific, Yoko-Kurama is getting bored." He added, in a more serious tone.

"Whoa, he just addressed himself in the third person." Yusuke whispered to Kuwabara which did not escape Kurama's ears.

"That's just weird…" Kuwabara whispered back.

Kurama glared at them and the two instantly behaved themselves.

"Hmp. I wondered how long it would take, I guess not much." Another familiar voice joined the conversation but the owner of it didn't reveal itself at once.

"Hiei, it is really rude when you eavesdrop and then barge in a conversation without showing yourself." Kurama commented casually and when he did, an outline of a short man appeared from the shadowy part of that place where the ramen shop was located and Hiei, clad in his usual black robes walked towards them.

As expected, he looked away as soon as he saw that Yukina was with them, giving him a warm welcoming smile.

He continued addressing Kurama, after slightly nodding his head as a greeting to Yukina then he tried ignoring her as much as he can. "Once in a while, you will need to give in to your demon side, Kurama. No activity in this human world could satiate that. Why don't you visit the demon world sometimes?"

"I'm not _that_ bored." Kurama answered looking somber.

Shizuru, feeling that she and Yukina will be soon left out of the current discussion, rose from her seat and beckoned Yukina to come with her.

"Hey doofus, we'll go home now, pay for these okay!" Shizuru said to her brother then she dragged the reluctant Yukina who was telling her that she had enough money to pay for the three bowls of ramen.

"Oh no! Yukina-chan, it's on me, don't worry about it!" Kuwabara hurriedly said, flashing a reassuring smile at Yukina but as soon as the two ladies left, he grumbled and complained as to why he needed to pay for his sister's ramen too.

For some time now, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei haven't had the chance to see each other all at the same time so at that moment, while the four of them are alone, they all took the time to appreciate the rare occasion.

"What is up with that ridiculous apparel?" Hiei said, staring at the bright red scarf that was hanging on Kuwabara's shoulders.

"What is up with that nasty attitude, shorty! I have you know, this was knitted by my precious Yukina's loving hands. You can mock me all you want but you will not make fun of my Yukina!" Kuwabara said hotly and he didn't notice how hard Yusuke and Kurama were trying to hold back their laughter at the sight of Hiei's stunned expression.

"What are you doing here anyway, Hiei?" Yusuke asked with the purpose of helping Hiei redeem himself although Yusuke couldn't help but continue grinning.

"Just thought I'd pass by, I just updated Koenma with the current number of human's beings that are., what do you call it here? Spirited away?"

"Hmm, quite the dedicated patrolman, are we Hiei?" Kurama said.

"Shut up. It's boring as hell." Hiei retorted.

"Hiei's bored, Kurama's bored.., Oh man.. You guys have it so easy you end up being bored. I wish everything in my life was as simple too." Kuwabara said, thinking how much more studying he'd need to do maintain his grades and actually graduate.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm having fun!" Yusuke said high spiritedly.

"Don't give me that shit!" Hiei said.

There was a brief silence that was broken only by the sound of moving and beeping cars from a nearby road. Yusuke then picked up the tape and the documents that were given by the black haired ferry girl.

"I'm not saying you're right, Hiei but I guess everyone here needs a bit of fun once in a while, let's just hope Koenma gave us a real challenge." He said, raising the tape and the book so everyone can see it.

"Not really what I have in mind but I guess it'll do." Hiei said.

"Count me out… I've got school shit remember?" Kuwabara said miserably.

"Let's see what the mission is first before you decide." Kurama said. "You have about a week before the next school year starts right?"

* * *

><p>"Master Genkai? Master Genkai!" Botan's voice and footsteps echoed through the empty temple as she tried to search for the owner of it. Her mind was still mulling over the information she read from the Houjin documents and she wanted to finish this errand as soon as possible because she had some researching to do regarding the blue haired girl.<p>

Finally, upon entering a hallway that lead to the multitude of rooms inside the temple, Botan was able to spot one of the demons who were currently residing at Genkai's.

"Hello there!" Botan greeted cheerfully as she approached the female demon with an elfin face and long flowing blond hair.

The female demon seemed surprised at the sight of a death deity in the temple that she did not greet her back and instead she tried to avoid her.

"Please wait! I'm looking for Master Genkai. I need to deliver something important."

The demon did stop but she did not say anything. She merely pointed at the end of the hallway were they were and then she left Botan commenting on how shy she was.

With the folder tucked under her arm, Botan followed the candle lit hallway and it opened to another large room which looked like it was used for training. In that room, she finally saw Master Genkai sitting in the middle of it.

Genkai's back was turned on her and she looked like she was in the middle of meditating so Botan approached her cautiously.

"Master Genkai…" She said softly. "Lord Koenma, wanted you to have these. I don't really know what they are so I'm just gonna leave them here." She then set down the folder near the old master and as Botan did so, she saw Genkai's hand swiftly reach for the folder.

The move was so strange and sudden that Botan shrieked in surprise and quickly stepped back. Genkai then turned around while still sitting down and it spooked the wits out of Botan when she saw the face of the person she thought was Master Genkai.

The creature had Genkai's body and grayish pink hair but its face was completely different. Its nose was long and it had deep red, orb like eyes that were now staring at Botan maliciously.

Botan backed away slowly but when she did, the creature lunged at her like a rabid animal. She avoided it by stepping sideways but while mid-air, the creature changed its direction, followed her and aimed its inch long claws at Botan's chest.

Botan didn't know what came over her but instead of simply running away, she grabbed the creature by the wrist and threw it at one corner of the room. She was surprised how light the creature was but right after this though, she felt the thunderous beating of her heart and she ran out of the room, back into the hallway.

It was in the middle of the hallway were she found the real Master Genkai and she almost tripped when she stopped to avoid running over the old woman.

"Master Genkai!" Botan said shrilly then she crouched behind the short master, pointing at the creature that was hell-bent on chasing and killing her. "That demon is trying to kill me!"

"Of course it was. I specifically ordered it to do so." Master Genkai said casually and Botan gaped at her, speechless.

"Well, to say it exactly, I asked the demons who are taking refuge here in the temple to attack anyone who they think would be a threat to me. I am getting old you know, and _they _need to do some work here in the temple in exchange for living here." Master Genkai explained, turning at Botan who was still hiding behind her.

"Uh, you're not that old and besides," Botan stood up and addressed the creature infront of them. "Do I look threatening to you?" She said furiously.

The creature, who was eagerly waiting what the master of the temple would do to the blue haired intruder leapt into the air again to attack Botan but with a flick of a finger, Master Genkai disabled the demon and it dropped on the floor paralyzed. It then turned back into its original form which was that of a gray cat.

"Bakaneko, stop wearing my clothes." Master Genkai said as she, and Botan who was sticking her tongue out at the poor creature, walked pass it.

"Now, Botan, I believe you have something for me from Koenma?" Genkai asked as they headed back to the room where Botan had been attacked by the Bakaneko.

"Oh yes!" She said then she went ahead of Master Genkai to retrieve the documents which she had left on the floor.

A few seconds later, Botan's high pitched cry echoed once more inside the quiet temple and Genkai watched her, standing stock still in the middle of the dim lit room, staring at something on the floor.

"The stupid cat shredded the file." She said hopelessly, showing Genkai the ripped pieces of paper on the floor. "This is so not my day!" Botan moaned, dropping her head down, feeling utterly inept.

"Hmm… Clean that up will you." Genkai said then she left the room.

"Okay…."


	3. Chapter 3  A New Case

Chapter III

**A New Case**

"Hey guys, please keep it down." Shizuru said in a harsh whisper, barging in inside her brother's room where Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei were, gathered around the television set, waiting for the video tape from the Spirit world to start playing.

"Yukina's sleeping." She informed them then she closed the door behind her and joined Kuwabara and Yusuke and the floor. Kurama was already sitting comfortably on a swivel chair, his legs crossed and Hiei was standing beside the window, looking at the television screen impatiently.

"And why the heck to you have to be here?" Kuwabara grumbled at his sister.

"Some smart-ass was whining about me not helping out whenever there's a Reikai mission." Shizuru said without looking at Kuwabara.

Kuwabara was about to say something but the video began to play and it showed Koenma who was sitting behind his desk.

"Yusuke. The Spirit world needs your help again." He said without any further introduction. Yusuke grinned inwardly, recalling how it felt like the first Reikai cases all over again.

"We've received anonymous reports regarding a strange ritual that was supposed to take place in the town of Houjin, a province in the north of Japan. " Koenma continued looking grave. "The ritual is rumored to resurrect the demon Nue. If you would refer to the document sent with this tape, you would get a better picture of what type of monster Nue was."

Yusuke lazily flipped through the tattered documents but Kuwabara quickly snatched it from him. "Hey! I thought you said we should count you out of this mission, why are you the one who's so interested?" Yusuke asked.

"Shut up, Yukina's sleeping!" Kuwabara answered evasively, but deep inside, he was already sort of decided that he'll join Yusuke on the mission especially when everyone's coming. He has already been left out during the Makai tournament and if this mission is just going to be within the human world, he'd definitely go.

As Koenma was still continuing with briefing them on what the case was, Yusuke did not have the opportunity to snap back at Kuwabara so he redirected his eyes on the TV where photos of a burnt shrine, human remains and secluded houses are being shown.

"The photos were taken last month." Koenma informed them. "The houses that you saw were supposedly owned by the group of humans that were conducting the resurrection and the ceremony involves human sacrifices to Nue, and the photo of the burnt shrine, can actually be taken as a good sign. It is possible that it was destroyed by the people who do not want the resurrection to be completed, or it could just be an accident. According to our source, Nue's resurrection will be completed once his fangs are burnt together with the teeth of the four hundred and forty-four maidens that were killed and sacrificed for him."

"Whoa! Four hundred and forty four?" Yusuke couldn't help but exclaim. "That's a lot. Wouldn't anyone notice if there are a lot of missing people lately?"

"Not if the killings were made over a long period of time. I doubt anyone would notice one to three disappearances per year from different places." Kurama pointed out.

Kuwabara and Shizuru remained silent. The two couldn't get over the fact that somewhere out there, someone is collecting dead people's teeth and they both cringed at the idea. The two finally had something in common.

"If our estimation is correct, the four hundred forty four sacrifices are complete and the only thing missing now is Nue's fangs." Koenma continued then he sighed. "Seven hundred years ago, when Nue was killed by Reikai soldiers, his soul was sent to hell and at that time, it didn't really matter how the corpse of that demon was disposed and as you all know, resurrections can only be done under the authority of the spirit world. However, lately, it appears that in rare occasions, unauthorized resurrections are found to be possible and Nue's spirit is already placed in maximum security in order for us to prevent his successful rebirth. We cannot determine yet if this would be enough though and the difficulty on this case is that even if we do have a source for the reports, they can only provide as much detail as they can because they fear that it would endanger their lives. This is the reason why I'm sending you to the town of Houjin, Yusuke; to conduct further investigation, find out who is leading the resurrection and put a stop to it." Koenma said and the tape finally concluded.

After a brief silence, Hiei was the first one to say something.

"Hmp. That's it? He's mocking you, Yusuke."

"I don't think so." Kurama said, looking thoughtful. "Nue must have been a legendary demon that dominated the human world hundreds of years ago to make Koenma worry, and if it takes a Reikai soldier or soldiers to kill him, then he would've been really powerful."

"Wait just a sec, that was it? Am I really not going to be paid for this?" Yusuke said, not at all listening to what everyone else is saying inside the room. "And aside from that, why the hell would a group of humans try to resurrect a demon?"

Yusuke's question was something that he suddenly thought of and uttered loudly, it was not necessarily directed at anyone but everyone in the room automatically turned to Kurama for the answer.

Kurama stared back at them looking a bit surprised but he did try to answer Yusuke's question. "If I am not mistaken… It is possible that Nue may have been regarded as one of those demons employed by humans as a protector of their wealth and status. Hundreds of years ago, in an attempt to balance the powers both the humans and demons have over the living world, some from both races would build alliances; the demons would provide protection and guidance while the humans provide them their food source. The demon would avoid being hunted down and killed, and the humans have a powerful creature on their side to protect them from harm. This way of living has been practiced mostly by powerful demons and wealthy human families in the past.

"Typical humans." Hiei said under his breath.

"So what you're saying is that we have to look for the richest family in Houjin and start from there?"

"Or the poorest. We can't be sure. We need to get more information about Nue." Kurama said.

"How about we start reading this thing then?" Kuwabara suggested as he carefully turned the pages of the Houjin documents.

Yusuke sighed loudly. "If only Botan was here, she'd do all the reading for us and she'll explain everything."

* * *

><p>Over the River Styx, Botan continued to contemplate about the passage she read from the Houjin documents. She does feel it's a bit ridiculous to be thinking about it and to assume it would be important to know more about the blue haired girl but she couldn't help but feel that way. The only thing that she can think about now in order to clear everything up was to talk to Koenma.<p>

She landed softly on the ground, infront of the Gate of Judgment and while walking through the tunnel that connects the gate to the main building of the Spirit world, George the ogre came dashing to meet her.

"Botan! Botan!" He yelled as he approached her.

Botan stopped and he looked at George who she noted was looking a bit worked up. "What's wrong?"

"You're not going to Lord Koenma's office are you?" He asked her worriedly.

"Well, actually, I am."

"I don't think that's a good idea. He's not really that happy when he found out that you took the Houjin documents from his office earlier."

Botan was a bit confused. "But I was only trying to help." She explained but she pursed her lips as soon as she recalled what she had done to the documents.

"I told the exact same thing to him but he got even more upset that I think he sent Ayame to follow you."

"I- I did meet Ayame a while ago…" Botan said in a low voice.

"Oh, well. That's good." George said. "But, If I were you I wouldn't go to Lord Koenma now not unless it's for something really really important."

Botan didn't answer but she continued walking through the tunnel with George but this time, they headed in another direction.

"I wonder what's the difference between you delivering those documents and Ayame delivering the documents… I couldn't really figure it out."

Botan remained quiet still, her expression was somber but George didn't notice this. He was still rambling on about why Koenma had to be so difficult and why he needed to complicate things and throw a tantrum when Botan faced him and smiled.

"Hey, you know what, I think I'll run along and follow your advice. I'll see Lord Koenma tomorrow. See you!" She said then she turned to a corner and left George thinking highly of himself for being able to warn Botan of Koenma's temper thus helping her avoid a scolding that he himself was unlucky enough to receive.

Meanwhile, Botan has broken into a run after putting some distance between her and George. Now everything seemed more confusing. Indeed, what was so different between her delivering the Houjin documents and Ayame doing it? Why bother having Ayame follow her halfway to Yusuke's house when they can just let her finish the delivery and then have Ayame be the one to take the other document to Master Genkai? Something strange was going on and it would be dumb to think that Koenma was not hiding something from her, add that to the things that she found out in the Houjin documents, it appears that everything was leading to some kind of ruse which clearly involved her.

Talking to Koenma was no longer an option. She needed to find someone else. Someone she can trust. She needed to see Nakatsu.


	4. Chapter 4 Botan's Story

Chapter IV

**Botan's Story**

It had been quite a while, since Botan had spoken to or seen her mentor, Nakatsu. She was the epitome of matriarchal governance and she taught what every death deity in the Spirit world knew so she was often called the original Grim Reaper. Mistress Nakatsu had long black hair that was tied in a low pony tail and in each side of her face hangs a string of black pearls. Unlike the other ferry women who wore colored kimonos, Mistress Nakatsu wore a plain black kimono and even her obi is black. When Botan had last heard about her mentor, she was already rising higher up in the hierarchy of the Spirit world but Botan believes that there's still that one place where she can go to find her and that is where she was heading now, hoping to speak to her about the first day they met.

Botan took the elevator and pushed the button that would take her to the top most floor of the building and every ticking second it took for the elevator to rise seemed like an eternity to Botan and the elevator music was not helping.

Finally, the elevator door opened and it revealed a vast rooftop that overlooks the dark horizon of the Spirit world.

The rooftop was the place that Nakatsu frequented and Botan would always find her there during the afternoons. Years ago, her mentor would always ask her to accompany her there until dusk and they would talk about all sorts of things; from the ways of the spirit world, to bizarre demons she had encountered up to her observation of human behaviors, Nakatsu had always shared to her all those details she felt would be beneficial to her as a novice deity of death.

Botan looked around to see if someone was on the rooftop and her heart sunk when she realized that she was alone. She really wanted to see Nakatsu but it looked like she'll have to figure out things all on her own.

She turned on her heel and headed back to the elevator but as soon as she did, the elevator door opened and she saw the very person she was looking for, clad in her usual black kimono.

"Botan?" Nakatsu said, surprised at the sight of her old apprentice who rushed to her and gave her a tight hug.

"Nakatsu-san! I was looking for you!" Botan said in a sad yet relieved voice.

"What's wrong, Botan?" Nakatsu asked, looking down at the face of the younger death deity who still hasn't let her go.

Botan, suddenly realizing the improperness of her actions quickly backed away from Nakatsu. They may have been close before but many years have passed and the circumstances were now different.

"Botan-chan." Nakatsu smiled warmly at her. "You didn't grow old one bit." She said looking at Botan from head to toe, noting the sad look on her purple eyes. "That means it hasn't been that long, you need not worry about anything when you're around me. Technically, I'm still your mother."

After that, the awkward wall between Botan and her old mentor slowly disappeared and Botan dove in to explain why she was looking for her. Botan told her about the passage in the Houjin documents, how she read Nakatsu's name on it, the mention of a certain blue haired girl and how Koenma seemed to not want her to see or even be near the Houjin documents.

"I know that what I'm telling you does not make any sense at all and I might just be linking things that aren't related to each other but… I have this nagging feeling, and it's screaming at me not to let this go."

Nakatsu remained silent for a while after hearing Botan's story, then she gestured Botan to follow her back to the elevator. "This isn't the right place to be discussing something like this. Let's not spoil the meaning of this place to us, follow me."

With those words said, Botan knew that whatever Nakatsu had to say about her concerns would certainly be something that will be unpleasant to learn.

Five floors from the rooftop, the elevator stopped and they entered a corridor that lead to the Spirit world archives. Unlike the Spirit world records room, the archives was a restricted area that only a few employees can access and when Botan and Nakatsu reached the frosted glass door of the archives, Nakatsu took out an access card, swiped it on the black scanner at the side of the door and after hearing a low beeping sound, the door slid open to the left and the two women entered the archives.

"I took you here because this is by far the most private place that I can tell you all the things you need to know." Nakatsu began as she led Botan in the middle of the archives where countless bookshelves surrounded them. "So to begin addressing your questions, the most important of all perhaps is to know who the blue haired girl was in the Houjin documents, so let's start with her."

Botan felt her heart stop for a moment then she gulped in anticipation, but for some strange reason, although her ears definitely wanted to hear what Nakatsu would say, her feet felt like they wanted to walk away.

"There's no point beating around the bush. " Nakatsu said somberly. "The girl in the Houjin documents, the one that came from Nue's stomach, it was you, Botan." She revealed then she watched as Botan opened her lips to say something and she paused to allow her to speak.

"But that's not possible, is it?" Botan asked looking confused and she began telling Nakatsu the very same thing she told herself earlier when she was putting the tattered Houjin documents together. "I'm not even a hundred years old, the Houjin incident happened seven hundred years ago." She reasoned but she knew perfectly well that Nakatsu would never lie to her.

"Your soul was too damaged that it took hundreds of years to rehabilitate it. You were stuck in a limbo that everyone almost gave up on you but you finally woke up. Unfortunately though, when you did, you had no memory that you've lived a human life. When you've awaken, it was like it was the first time you have seen things, you were so innocent of everyone and everything." Nakatsu explained.

"Why didn't anyone tell me any of these before? I Think I'd appreciate knowing what my past was!"

Nakatsu shook her head dolefully. "It was not me who decided on it but nevertheless I have agreed to King Enma's advice. Your past was so tainted, Botan. If it was up to us, it is definitely not worth looking back to."

Botan didn't say anything but she clenched her fist. She didn't know how she'd react to how Nakatsu just described her supposed past but at that moment, she was drowning in mixed feelings of uncertainty, sadness and frustration.

"So now I ask you, Botan." Nakatsu continued as she walked towards one of the old wooden shelves and took a book from it. "Would you still like to find out more about yourself or would you rather leave this place and live your life as you had done so during the past years? I warn you though, if you choose the former, I assure that—"

"Yes. I want to know!" Botan interrupted Nakatsu in a determined voice. "I- I don't think I can just turn my back from all this now… I want to know."

"Why?" Nakatsu asked, turning to face her.

"What do you mean by why?" Botan asked back, feeling annoyed all of a sudden. "Am I not entitled to know what I actually am?"

"What you are?"

Botan sighed. "You, Ayame, and all the other guides of the spirit world… You were all created to serve the purpose of being spirit guides and apparently that's not the case for me. I'm just a lost soul, accidentally found in the stomach of a monster… I'm not like you guys…" she said desolately.

"You don't know what you're saying. You're already a mess and I have not told you everything that I know about your past yet." Nakatsu snapped at her. "I didn't train you to become a self-pitying fool."

Botan looked down to avoid seeing the disappointment on her old mentor's eyes. She knew Nakatsu had a point; one should never wallow on the misery of the moment- that was one of the things she taught her. As Grim Reapers who walk side by side with death, it was never wise to be affected by the sadness of someone's passing or by the sorrow of those left behind, or else you'll break—but what if it was your own misery? You couldn't really help but acknowledge the feeling.

"Botan, I'm in no position to tell you how you should feel but you should at least try to be strong. " Nakatsu said in a gentler tone. "Now please, we should really sit down for the story that I am to tell you requires it."

As soon as Nakatsu said this, a table and two wooden chairs materialized between her and Botan and they both sat down beside each other. Nakatsu then placed a familiar looking old book on top of the table and started browsing through it, looking for a particular section that she needed to show Botan.

"That's the Houjin documents." Botan said as she realized why the book looked familiar; the writing, the paper and the general way it looked was the same as the one she had nearly destroyed earlier. "So they made duplicates of documents before and they kept them here in the archives?" She asked without really expecting an answer. She just felt like she needed to say something that made sense in order to move past the rather embarrassing way she presented herself earlier.

"Yes." Nakatsu answered curtly. "Here we are…" She then said as she opened the book, revealing a painting of a beautiful woman with long black hair, clothed in fine Japanese kimono and a fur shawl.

"Who is that?" Botan could not help but admire the image. Though it was old, it did not fail to show how striking the subject of the painting was.

"This woman, is your mother, Botan." Nakatsu said.

"What?" Botan exclaimed. "But she's so pretty, and young… I mean, I couldn't be related to…" Her words faltered when she noticed how similar her eyes were to the woman in the painting.

"Yes, pretty and young…" Nakatsu repeated softly. "This woman's name is Tamamo, the lady of the Utagawa clan who ruled the town of Houjin seven hundred years ago, and your story starts with her."

Botan reflexively held her breath and it was a great thing she did so because the following revelation Nakatsu had imprudently uttered would've knocked the wind out of her.

"This woman, Lady Utagawa Tamamo, is the very reason why you died, Botan. It was in her orders that you be sacrificed to the demon Nue."

Botan stared at Nakatsu in complete disbelief. She tried saying something, particularly to point out why she needed to start off with such disheartening information about her mother but it was as if something was blocking the sound from coming out of her mouth and she was rendered speechless.

"I don't want you to get any other ideas during the progress of your life's story regarding this woman, Botan and I apologize if I cannot say anything good about her. The story I'm about to tell you is not written in this document, it will be based on the demon Nue's confession and that manuscript is in King Enma's private collection. However, trust that I will only relate to you the truth of your past life." Nakatsu said bluntly and she continued on. "During the time that the Utagawa clan had reigned over the town of Houjin, they had the unfortunate fate of encountering another family whose power was slowly growing and was undoubtedly threatening their supremacy over the vast domain. Add that to the fact that they seem to be unable to produce a male heir, they had no choice but to resort to the most peaceful way of retaining their power over Houjin and that is to have their one and only successor be married to a descendant of the other family. And so Lady Tamamo was married to Satzuma Shiro of the Satzuma clan. However, behind all those passive façade was a malicious plan which was brewed by the proud and despotic Lord Utagawa, Lady Tamamo's grandfather and the last male heir of the Utagawa clan. Lord Utagawa's original motive was to join the fortunes of the two families then eliminate the Satzuma clan completely once Tamamo bears a child. A year after the marriage, Tamamo did bear a child and without knowing the gender of unborn infant, Lord Utagawa employed the help of the demon, Nue to kill all of those from the Satzuma clan." Nakatsu turned the page of the book and she showed Botan the image of the demon, Nue. It had the body of a tiger but relatively larger than a normal one and on the painting, it stands upright. It also had a face that looked almost human like and a golden mane surrounding it. For a tail, it had a snake that had red eyes and a pair of deadly looking fangs.

"Nue was able to kill almost all from the Satzuma clan but at Shiro Satzuma's plea, he begged Lord Utagawa to have his and his parents' lives to be spared. Lord Utagawa agreed but only if they would leave Houjin for good. However, Lady Tamamo opposed this, saying that they have gotten all they need from the Satzumas and they did not need three shadows that might haunt them in the future. The three Satzumas swore that they would go as far as their feet can take them and will never speak nor think of Houjin again but Tamamo was resolute and she ordered Nue to go after her husband and her two aged in-laws and they were killed and eaten even before crossing the arc that was the entrance and the way out of Houjin." Nakatsu stole a glance at Botan and seeing that she was holding out well, she continued her story.

"After the annihilation of the entire Satzuma clan, The Utagawa family rose to power even more due to the fear they have struck upon the inhabitants of Houjin. Everything fell apart though when Tamamo finally gave birth to a daughter. Lord Utagawa was unable to bear the fact that he may die without having the assurance that the Utagawa legacy would continue and he slowly lost his sanity and everything fell into Tamamo's shoulders. Now, your mother, who some may say is the younger female version of the tyrant which is your grandfather, saw Lord Utagawa's downfall as an opportunity to take over Houjin and Nue's control and she eventually had the old man killed by Nue. Lady Tamamo declared herself as the new overseer of Houjin and she created an image wherein she made herself appear as though she was a victim of her own grandfather's quest for power and she had successfully gained the town's sympathy. She also declared that due to all the dreadful things that had happened, especially to her husband's family, she had lost the child that she was carrying. The child was alive though and initially, she had planned on killing her as well for she was no use to her at all. However, a group of monks who had served as advisers to the Utagawa family for decades pitied the innocent child and asked that they give the girl to them and she gladly did." Nakatsu then turned to Botan to directly address her and she saw and could feel that she was trying her best not to cry.

"The monks who took you in may have been the kindest group of people that I can mention in this memoir, your memoir. They treated you like their own daughter, clothe you, fed you, and you were happy to be with them. They protected you since the first day you came to their lives and even when you are about to die… Sinister, Tamamo may have been, she was still too young to govern an entire town and as she had inherited the pact with Nue from her grandfather, she also had the responsibility of feeding the demon in exchange for its protection and the promise of absolute power over Houjin. In time, she was not able to perform her end of the bargain with Nue and as a last resort of keeping the demon by her side and preventing it from turning against her, she remembered that she had a daughter and she offered you as a sacrifice. The monks were informed of the plan and they were powerless against it. They could not escape the town with you and they could not change Tamamo's mind. So what they did was they gave you a strong sleeping drug the night that Nue would come to the temple for you and the aim was that, if they do fail and die fighting off Nue, they should at the very least not allow you to feel any pain when you die. The monks fought Nue and they were killed, after that, Nue came for you… It was after this that Nue turned against Tamamo and came after her as well and the town of Houjin became his hunting ground. The event in Houjin escalated to King Enma's knowledge and he had Reikai soldiers take him down. It was here in the Spirit world that we finally met you, Botan."

It took around three minutes before anything else was spoken inside the archive, after this Botan stood up and she walked away from the table, her back turned on Nakatsu. After hearing the story of her past, she admits she feels a little sad about it. But just a little. Mostly, she feels appalled. She couldn't make herself believe that she was the blue haired girl from the story, the Utagawa child that was disposed by her mother and then sacrificed to a monster. Everything seemed unreal, and yet, there's that certain ache within her that she couldn't deny.

Botan tried mustering a blank expression before turning to face Nakatsu again. She also made sure that she was composed enough to speak properly before asking some questions.

"The monks.., How many were they and did their spirits survive?"

Nakatsu shook her head. "Their souls have been digested before the Reikai soldiers captured Nue. Out of all his victims, only your soul survived."

"But, if that's the case…" Botan furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly realizing something despite all that was clouding her mind. "You said that I was attacked by Nue first before he came after My mo—I mean Tamamo. Wouldn't have you found her spirit inside Nue as well?"

"That is one of the mysteries that is yet to be solved. You are correct, we should've found Tamamo's soul inside Nue as well but we didn't. A careful tally of all the residents of Houjin that fell victim to Nue was conducted for days and we were able to account every single soul except one, and that is Tamamo's. "


	5. Chapter 5  Plans

Chapter V

**Plans**

Botan has decided earlier, while descending with Nakatsu on the elevator, that the information disclosed regarding her past would in no way affect her, but it did and it was now hounding her, like a shadow that would not leave her alone and even now while clad in her pajamas, staring blankly on the ceiling of her room, she was going over the story of her life seven hundred years ago once again.

So far, Botan's experience as a guide to the spirit world has provided her with enough encounters with cruel people and they did not bother her at all. However, it was quite different when one would find out that they are related to one of the most evil people that came into existence. She tried to ignore it as much as she could but the thought of being disposed by her own mother continued to reverberate in her mind and it felt like her heart has been immersed in icy cold water and it just shriveled there, hurt and alone.

"No! No! No! I hate this! I don't want to feel this way!" She said loudly then she pressed a pillow on her face, muffling a frantic scream that she hoped would get the negative feelings out of her system.

"Who cares right? It doesn't matter if that's how it all happened. Nothing should change." Botan told herself as she sat up but for some reason, she was suddenly reminded of Yusuke's mother and how distraught she was when Yusuke died. _It didn't look like it at first but she does care about her son's well being…_

Botan shook her head, trying to whisk the thought away. Why was she trying to make things worse by comparing Yusuke's mother to hers?

_And Kurama's human mother… They're so lucky…_

Botan groaned then she lied back down on her bed with a slam. "Brain stop thinking please…" She said, addressing her restless mind as though it was a separate being.

_At least you had monks to care for you. That meant you had more than one parent. _Said the voice in Botan's head and she smiled wryly at this. She wondered what the monks may have looked like but all that came to Botan's head were the images of Tamamo and Nue.

Botan pummeled the large pillow beside her as the thought of Tamamo's missing soul came in her mind. Tamamo managed to escape, somehow. Evading Reikai soldiers, ferry women—evading her final judgment for seven hundred years. It's impossible for a human soul to become earth bound for that long and Botan hoped that instead of simply vanishing, Tamamo's soul should at least suffered severely for her cruelty.

She closed her eyes tightly and tried to sweep away her own cruel thoughts by imagining three or four bald men, wearing white robes and with them was a little girl with light blue hair. Botan felt silly doing this but it was a comforting vision and it was far better than Tamamo or Nue's faces.

Botan sat up again and sighed. If only the monks' spirits were alive, there may be a way for her to ask Koenma's permission to see them and thank them for everything. But then, even their souls do not exist anymore and the fact that Koenma was hiding the entire thing about her connection to the Houjin documents would make her impossible request even more impossible.

She was tired, mentally, physically, and emotionally and a relaxing sleep would be the best thing at the moment but she doubts if sleep would easily come to her with all the things that were going through her head. There must be a way in order for her to completely get over her _issue _and confronting Koenma about it was out of the question. Letting time takes its course would be too long, Talking to Nakatsu may not help at all, and crying... she had done that already and it only made her feel worse.

She needed some kind of closure.

_And just how am I supposed to get that? _Botan asked herself and a simple straightforward answer came to her mind.

She needed to go to the town of Houjin.

* * *

><p>Morning came and Botan quickly jumped off her bed and faced herself in the mirror, her face looking resolute. Last night, she was able to formulate a plan that she thinks would allow her to get to the town of Houjin without being questioned by Koenma and that plan was to pretend she was coming down with the flu.<p>

During her contemplations last night, her vexation towards Koenma's secrecy of her past had been mellowed down by the obvious reason that her boss was only trying to protect her from the painful truth. She considered talking to him still, telling him that she already knows about her seven hundred year old past but when she imagined herself asking him if she could go to the town of Houjin, a vision of a screaming toddler forbidding her to go made her decide that she needed to avoid Koenma. Completely.

For now, the plan of pretending she was sick was the best she had. It would allow her to be free of her duties as a guide for at least three days and at those times, everyone would think that she was in her room resting and that's her chance to sneak out of the Spirit world and go to Houjin.

But there were a number of obstacles that Botan needed to smooth out regarding her plan. First was that she wasn't really that good at acting so she still needed to figure out a way on how to make everyone believe or at least just Koenma to believe that she was indeed sick and needed a long rest, and the other thing that needed figuring out and may perhaps be the most important thing of all was to know where exactly the town of Houjin was located.

Botan sighed at how unpolished her plan was as she pulled her hair into its usual high ponytail.

_If only I was as smart as Kurama... _She thought and a sudden realization dawned on her. The Houjin documents were sent to Yusuke and the others because it was supposed to be a part of a new mission. If that was the case then they would know where the town of Houjin would be located and all she needed to do was tag along with them.

_But if I do tag along with them, then Koenma would surely know of it! _

_But what if I tell them to keep it a secret? Then... I'll have to give them the reason why... but I don't want anyone to know-at least not yet... _

_What if you lie?_

_I can't lie to them!_

It was like everywhere Botan turned and saw an escape route, it would slam its doors shut on her face and she's trapped in the same mess all over again.

Botan glowered at her reflection, sighed and then she tried to smile. Slowly failing (even though it hasn't even started) her plan may be, she had to remain optimistic and believe that it would work eventually. For the meantime though, she needed to go to work and think of a way to get her fake-sick-ploy into action.

* * *

><p>Upon entering the workplace, Botan was greeted by numerous ogres running and screaming about with either phones or paperwork in their hands. There were also a couple of her fellow spirit guides in the room and they gave each other a quick hello before going about on their own way.<p>

She was about to enter Koenma's office when the door of it busted open and George, who was with another ogre came out of the room.

"Right away, Nakatsu-sama!" The two ogres cried in unison and they passed by Botan without giving notice to her.

"Nakatsu-sama..?" Botan whispered in bewilderment and she entered the still widely opened door infront of her and found Koenma's chair empty.

"What was that all about?" She wondered and a movement on her right made her turn to that direction and she found that there was a new desk inside Koenma's office and the person sitting behind it was none other than Nakatsu.

"Nakatsu-san? What are you doing here?" Botan asked, suddenly feeling a bit fretful that her old mentor may have already told Koenma about her knowing the connection between the Houjin documents and her past. Fearing that Koenma would suddenly appear somewhere in that vast office, Botan prepared herself for his thunderous scolding, but it did not come.

"Lord Koenma may not be attending to his duties for a while." Nakatsu said worriedly. "He is currently in the medical wing… Digestive problems." She explained without looking at Botan. She was too immersed in the pile of documents she was going through and she did not have the second to spare for the blue haired deity.

"Oh, I see. Is he gonna be alright?" Botan asked, trying her hardest to mimic Nakatsu's worried tone of voice. Yes, she was indeed concerned about Koenma's condition as well, but with him not in his office and with Nakatsu in it instead, a notion was slowly forming in her bubbly head and she was fully aware that a relieved smile was forming on her lips.

"Yes. I suppose after a few days. I have just sent those two to the cafeteria in order to find out who served the meat buns that Lord Koenma ate yesterday." Nakatsu said, referring to the two ogres who exited the room earlier. "I'm here to take over for the meantime. What brought you here anyways?"

Botan was smiling widely now. "Uhm.., Actually, I came to see if Lord Koenma had some special run for me."

Nakatsu looked up at her and smiled, a glint of pride in her eyes. "Lord Koenma trusts you that much, doesn't he?"

"Well, yes of course! Not that I'm being stuck up or anything but I bet I'm the best ferry girl the spirit world could offer and Lord Koenma's lucky to have me!" Botan announced jokingly and Nakatsu only found herself shaking her head at the girl's silliness. She was also somehow pleased to see Botan looking genuinely cheerful after their talk last night.

"I don't believe Lord Koenma had left any assignments for you today." Nakatsu said.

After that, silence hung in the air and Nakatsu already knew what would happen next. Perhaps it has been too hasty of her to have hoped for the best. Cheerfulness was never a sign of contentment or relief.

There was a soft thud and Nakatsu realized that Botan had closed the door that was left open by the two ogres and then she slowly walked towards her desk, wringing her hands and was obviously struggling to start saying something. Nakatsu expected as much. Botan didn't really had that many questions last night regarding the story she had told her about her past, possibly because there were just too many things to ask and Botan was not in the right state of mind to easily enumerate them all.

The decision Nakatsu made last night had not been easy. She made an oath to King Enma to keep the secret from Botan and she could have persuaded Botan to forget what she found out. She could have easily fabricated something that would put an end to Botan's questionings. But the surface has already been scratched, due to a mistake that Koenma accidentally made and she just couldn't bear the confused and pained look on her old student's face.

Without Koenma and King Enma's knowledge, Nakatsu divulged a secret that was kept for seven hundred years from a girl they believe would not be capable of handling it and the blue haired girl from the Houjin documents may just prove them all wrong.

Surely, what she has done has its consequence and she'll face it eventually. For now, she has to take responsibility over Botan and she'll try to answer any questions she will ask.

"Uhm.. Nakatsu-san…"

"Yes Botan?"

"Do you know… where the town of Houjin is?" She asked warily and Nakatsu's eyes narrowed at this question. "Yes, I do."

"C-could you tell me where it is?" Botan asked again even more cautiously. At that moment, she felt that Nakatsu, like Koenma, might not be too keen into giving her more information if their aim was still to protect her. "I'm tough enough to handle myself, just so everyone knows!" She suddenly blurted out after seeing the averting look in Nakatsu's face.

"I know. I've seen what you can do, I know what you're capable of, and I also know that whatever you're about to do, will be based on impulse. I'm not going to stop you, just to be clear, but it will be too dangerous to go to Houjin at this time."

"What? Why is that?"

"The Houjin documents, the one that you took from Lord Koenma's table, you were supposed to deliver them to Urameshi, correct?"

"Yes."

"The reason why those documents were given to Yusuke is for them to learn more about the demon Nue because someone in the human world is trying to resurrect him."

Botan was speechless.

"A group of humans, we presume are trying to resurrect Nue for reasons you can already imagine and Lord Koenma decided that the case be taken care by Urameshi. The mission is going to be perilous especially if it actually escalates to a point that Nue would be successfully brought back to life." Nakatsu continued.

"An unauthorized resurrection?" Botan finally reckoned. "But Nue's soul is already being heavily guarded, right?"

The black haired deity nodded.

"Well, it's a good thing that Lord Koenma picked the best man for the job. I'm certain this case would be a piece of cake for him, especially if the rest of the Reikai Tantei would accompany him." Botan remarked confidently. She then continued with her plea regarding Houjin's location.

"I will not intervene with Yusuke's mission just to keep away from harm if that's what you're concerned about. I'll go my own way. But please… please tell me where the town of Houjin is. I've already decided that the best thing that I can do, in order to come into terms with all these…" she paused, placing a hand over her heart. "… is to see the place where it all happened."

Nakatsu studied the blue haired girl carefully. She understood her need to learn more about her birthplace and herself but there was danger involved in what Botan intended to do- and it's not just in the physical sense.

"Does it have to be right at this instance? Can you not wait after everything has been settled by Urameshi and his friends?" Nakatsu met Botan's resolute expression.

"I don't think this can wait. This might be the only opportunity that I'll get." Botan said firmly.

"Yes, not unless someone gives Lord Koenma a plateful of spoiled meat buns again."


	6. Chapter 6 Attachments

Chapter VI

**Attachments**

"Yep, we're leaving tomorrow." Yusuke said casually then he took a big gulp from the glass of iced tea that had just been placed by a waitress on the table that he and Keiko had picked in that newly opened café. Yusuke was cautiously watching Keiko's expression towards the news that he had just blurted out but she remained impassive and it annoyed Yusuke that he couldn't figure out what was going through the brunette girl's mind.

"Are the others going with you?" Keiko asked without looking at Yusuke. She was admiring how cute the pink strawberry cake looked on her plate and she couldn't seem to decide how to start eating it.

"Well, Kuwabara's going for sure, and Kurama too. I don't know about Hiei."

"How about Shizuru and Yukina?"

Yusuke blinked. "I'm sorry, who?"

A smirk started forming on Keiko's lips and Yusuke did not fail to notice this. "Shizuru called me last night and she explained to me what your mission would be. It seemed you left out a whole lot of information regarding the risk your mission involves." She explained with an annoyed tone but the smirk didn't fade from her face.

Yusuke started to worry and he could literally feel the sweat dripping near his temple. He blinked again trying to look as innocent as he can; with Keiko's arched brow and ominous smile, he just couldn't bring his head to think what she was about to say next and what he needed to do about it. _And what's with her asking if Kuwabara's sister and Yukina are coming with them?_

"Shizuru was conducting a bit of research you see and she found out that the town of Houjin is now actually a world renowned resort and it's currently the fifth most visited tourist attraction in Japan. The town has been converted into a resort, slash spa, slash casino, slash historical site, slash shopping site. It's practically screaming Vegas up there."

"And your point is..?" Yusuke ventured to ask even though he already knew where all that talk was leading to.

"Oh Yusuke!" She finally snapped. " It's the middle of summer and you're going to a place where people go for vacation. Everyone's going and that includes me so you better not be late picking me up!"

"What? Seriously Keiko! This mission might end up badly and you want to go with us? If in case Shizuru failed to inform you, we might need to battle off a legendary demon once we're in Houjin!" Yusuke said frantically and he was already gaining the attention of a few people sitting near their table. He, nor Keiko cared about this though and they continued to glare at each other.

"It's just one demon, I accompanied you to that Dark Tournament thing, didn't I?" Keiko reasoned then she finally drove a fork on the cake infront of her and she placed the portion into her mouth. "Wow, this is actually quite good!" She squealed in delight, her irked expression suddenly turning cheerful.

Yusuke gritted his teeth. Yes she's right, she did manage to get in and out of that said tournament alive but it was mostly out of luck and because she was with Botan. He hasn't seen Botan for a while now and it seemed that she's not going to show up anytime soon and they couldn't always rely on luck. Keiko had her own strength for sure but that's not enough for him and Keiko's safety was top priority.

Yusuke growled at her to get her attention back. "Keiko! Are you still with me here?"

"Uh-huh. Yes I'll go to Houjin with you if you want me to, Yusuke." She said with a sweet smile, deliberately steering the conversation off the point and Yusuke was left with no choice but to bang his head on the table out of frustration.

Yusuke was at this position for some time when she heard Keiko spoke again.

"Hey, it's Kurama." She said.

"What about Kurama?" Yusuke grunted without lifting his head from the table.

"He's here Yusuke." Keiko said tediously and Yusuke straightened himself up then he followed where Keiko was pointing at.

Yusuke and Keiko's table was located near the back of the square café. In the middle of the store was the cashier and the bread racks where a selection of tasty looking pastries were placed, and the racks were arranged to form a square as well, creating a small workplace for the café staff. From Yusuke and Keiko's vantage point, they could clearly see Kurama but it would be difficult for Kurama to spot them.

"What do you think he's doing here?" Keiko asked in a hushed voice while watching Kurama intently.

"From the looks of it, he's buying bread." Yusuke answered and this earned him another ticked off look from Keiko again.

"I'm not referring to that you idiot. I meant, do you think he's meeting his girlfriend here?"

"Wha- How am I supposed to know that that's what you meant by 'What do you think he's doing here'? That's one of those trivial crap you girls are always trying to pull."

"Well I cleared it all up for you, didn't I? Now, do you think Kurama's meeting his girlfriend here?"

"I stand by my answer. He's buying bread, that's all there is to it. As far as I know, he doesn't have a girlfriend. He's probably buying bread for his mom. The bread's probably gonna be the opening for the excuse he's going to give her for going away on our mission." Yusuke said while watching Kurama from his seat. He then turned back to Keiko who he just observed was trying to hunch down, hiding herself from Kurama's view.

"You know, there's no need for you to do that." Yusuke said with an amused look in his face. "Kurama wouldn't see us and even if he can't, hiding from him is not that effective, he can sniff us out." He said pointing at his own nose.

Keiko relaxed a bit and they both watched as Kurama walked out of the café with a box on his hand.

"Lately, we've noticed that Kurama's a bit… off." Yusuke said. He was uncertain why he suddenly felt the inclination to start discussing his concern regarding Kurama to Keiko but it just felt comfortable to do so at the moment.

"Maybe lying to his mom everyday is starting to get to him…" Keiko offered.

"Nah… I don't think that's it. He's lying to his mom to protect her and he wouldn't stop protecting her for as long as he can. I think, his demon side's just looking for some good brawl. He said Yoko-Kurama's getting bored and that may be the reason why he's decided to help on the case, he's looking for something to take the edge off."

"You're making him sound like you. Always looking for trouble." Keiko pouted, recalling how much of a delinquent Yusuke was _(well… up until now)_ way back when they were at school, always getting himself in fights for just about the most ridiculous things.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders at Keiko's remark. "But that's one of the reasons you fell for me, right?"

"Yusuke, you idiot!" Keiko said fuming, her face turning bright red.

* * *

><p>Kurama turned to another corner, walking without really thinking where he was headed for his feet perfectly knew how to get home. The alibi he's going to provide his mother and the rest of his family had all been thought of, all he needed to do is to say it; the things he needed to bring were already packed and he's hidden it in a compartment of a side table inside his room.<p>

He admits, he's looking forward to Yusuke's new case. He does not regret his decision on working for his stepfather's company and he'll continue to do it, but for now, he'll need to allow himself to give in to the most basic of his nature. For the past two years, he was able to take control over the other side of him but from time to time, he does feel that particular restlessness inside him and it was not until now that he's decided to concede to what it wants.

He neither likes nor hates the feeling, he is what he is and accepting that he was both the human and the demon Kurama was easy, the difficult part is knowing to what extent he'll be able to maintain the balance of the two. Nothing was ever certain and the millennia of being Yoko compared to his seventeen years of being Shuuichi Minamino was an important thing to consider.

Kurama knew that Yusuke's new case may not hold the promise of a good fight because he himself would assure that it wouldn't escalate to that, he's hoping though that at the very least, the case would offer ample intellectual challenge that would be enough to gratify his need for incitement and from there, he'll see what happens.

He stopped just outside the door of his house, inside he could already hear the noise that was coming from the different parts of it; in the kitchen, he could hear his mother preparing food, his stepbrother Shuichi was still in his room, peacefully sleeping and at the second floor, he could hear the sound of water running and he could safely assume that his step father was getting ready to go to work.

Kurama turned the door knob and entered the house.

"I'm home!" He announced in a lighthearted tone and the plan that he devised that would explain his absence from the house for about a week without making his family, especially his mother worry, unfolded with ease.

That night, Kurama's mother told him how happy she was that Kurama's taking his keen interest in plants to new heights by joining an organization of Botanists and their trek to Mount Shirouma. His stepbrother told him he had a weird hobby and his stepfather said that he supports him at his ventures and that if he wanted to open a flower shop or attend the university to pursue his love of plants, he'll surely assist him with these as well.

He smiled at them, didn't say anything else, then he went up too his room.

He was slowly drifting to sleep when he heard a soft knock. Kurama automatically set his eyes on his window, expecting none other than Hiei, only to realize that the sound was coming from his door. His room was completely dark so he reached for the light switch and his room was bathed in bright light.

"Shuuichi-kun…" Shiori called from behind the door and Kurama hastily opened it for her.

"Mother? Is anything wrong?" He asked and there might have been a trace of apprehension in his voice that his mother softly laughed at him.

"Oh no, Shuuichi. Why do you always worry that something's wrong. May I come in?" She asked.

"Of course." He said, then he stepped aside to let his mother in and she looked around the room, realizing that it has been a while since she actually saw the entirety of it.

Kurama just watched her, thinking of reasons why she was there.

Shiori then pulled a chair, sat on it and gazed at her son's eyes, as if she was trying to read them.

"You don't need to worry about me, Shuuichi-kun but… I admit, you never cease to making _me_ worry. I'm always here for you, son. Don't you ever forget about that." Shiori said and it pained Kurama to see the genuine uneasiness and concern in his mother's eyes. He was certain that he was able to hide the minute alterations in temperament that he was experiencing lately but was his mother able to perceive them still?

"Mother, I…" He began but his mother already stood up and she gave him a tight hug that he readily returned and Kurama knew that he had allowed his mother to feel somewhat insignificant again and the tightness of her hug told him that she was trying to hold on to something that was rapidly slipping away.

"Now, don't you also forget to call me every day, okay?" She then said with a merrier expression as she released her son from her embrace.


	7. Chapter 7 To Houjin

Chapter VII

**To Houjin**

"Darn it! I think I forgot to pack my boxers!" Kuwabara grunted as he rummaged through his bag while sitting inside the already moving train that would take him and the others to the town of Houjin.

"Really? You really had to say it that loud?" Shizuru said, her eyes locked on Yukina who was sitting infront of her and beside his brother.

An unmistakable blush started forming on Kuwabara's cheeks which then spread on his entire face and Yukina, as always, hastily asked if he was feeling sick.

Shizuru rolled her eyes at the odd scene then she directed her attention back to the paper she was reading. Beside her was Kurama and he too had a reading material in his hands, a book about noted paranormal activities in Japan. But although the book was truly informative, what was in Kurama's mind was far from what was contained in the book. He was simply staring at it, turning the page every now and then so as to not make anyone suspicious.

On the other side of the aisle sat Keiko and Yusuke. They were facing each other but both of them were looking outside the window, watching the sceneries that were quickly passing by.

All things considered, even with Kuwabara's consistent display of ridiculousness, Shizuru thought that the train ride was going to be nothing but three and a half hours of complete drab, and the worst thing was that she couldn't smoke it off.

"My, my… If Botan was here." She said with a sigh after a few minutes. This did not earn any reaction from anyone at all so she set her eyes back on the paper she was reading looking surly. The company of the bubbly blue haired girl was one of the rare things she was fond of and with long boring trips such as the one she was in right now, Botan's loquacious disposition would have been the perfect distraction.

Little did she know that Botan was actually flying just above them, with two travel cases hanging at the end of her oar, she was slipping through the clouds, keeping an eye on the train that was swiftly chugging below her.

Based on the information that Nakatsu told her, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama will take a train to Houjin at around seven in the morning. Once they arrive, she figured they'll check themselves in one of the numerous hotels inside the town.

From inside the collar of her pink kimono, she took out a pamphlet about the town of Houjin that she had secretly taken from a small travel guide stall at the train station earlier while waiting for Yusuke and the others to board. She was wearing a long, dark brown wig and a black short sleeved dress then when she almost gave away that disguise, walked up to Yusuke and gave him a good knocking on the head, seeing that aside from the boys, he also took Keiko, Shizuru and Yukina with them. With great effort she stopped herself from giving Yusuke a piece of her mind and she remained hidden and as the train began to depart, she took a quick review of the pamphlet and she finally _somehow_ understood why Yusuke allowed the girls to come with them; it appears that the town of Houjin, which was the site of countless demon massacres, had been turned into a holiday resort.

Botan sighed, the hot sun was reflecting its light on the surface of the shiny pamphlet she was holding and the heat of it was starting to burn down on the landscapes below. Being in her spirit form she does not feel any of the sun's heat though and the reason she was sighing in hopelessness was because she now needed to hide herself from being spotted by six people. The first step to do that was to stay away from them as far as possible.

Upon arriving in Houjin, she plans on getting a room in one of the hotels listed in the pamphlet. It doesn't matter if it was expensive, which it probably will be, just as long as it's located somewhere that a chance encounter with Yusuke and the others was not possible. According to the colored map of the town that was illustrated in the pamphlet, the town of Houjin was bordered by rolling hills in the north, a small city in the east and by a lake in the west. The town was split into two by a main roadway which branches itself to the town's main attractions which were the hotels, the gardens, the amusement parks, the administrative buildings, the lake side houses, the museum and the old temples. At the very edge of the town, near the hills, a strange, high colossal rock was pictured and one of the smaller roads on the map appeared to go around this. In Botan's opinion, whoever proposed the development of the town of Houjin was not only determined to make the town as tourist friendly as possible, he was also trying to preserve the old sites, such as the temples and the woodlands.

Botan slipped back the pamphlet inside her kimono then she took out her trusty pen and notebook. She flipped through it until she found her checklist of the places she'll visit in Houjin where the Utagawa temples have already been noted as the first place she'd go. Nakatsu told her that the temples where she and the monks have resided still existed and would be the best place to start; she absolutely agrees to that, however, finding the current mayor of Houjin or the one who was managing the town's development, and then giving them a ghostly visit in their dreams was not bad either. The Spirit world may have completely erased the demonic events that occurred in Houjin from human history but Botan thought that a little information regarding the life of the people from the past might help her piece her previous life as well since she had no memories to look back to.

Time dragged on for both Botan and Yusuke's group as they traveled but soon enough, they did reach the town of Houjin.

The sight that welcomed them all was far from what they imagined and Shizuru, who has already consumed half of her cigarette, was grinning with satisfaction at how extravagant the town was. But as soon as she and the others entered the town through its huge archway which was an ornate Chinese paifang, an eerie feeling swept over them and they all stopped. However, the feeling vanished as soon as it came and they all looked at each other to confirm if they have sensed it too.

"What's the matter?" Keiko asked, looking at Yusuke.

"Ah-It's nothing." He quickly answered because he could not explain what the change in ambiance was either, it was too quick to come and go and he doubts that Kurama or Kuwabara could figure what it was or where it came from either.

"You guys… Are you keeping something from me?" Keiko said, sounding unconvinced. "Kuwabara, you look like you've seen a ghost, what is it?"

"Let's just say that a bunch of people _really_ did die horribly in this place." He answered hesitantly.

Keiko nodded but she could not wrap her mind around what Kuwabara just said for everywhere she directed her eyes, all she could see were colors, smiling faces, and the guarantee of a great summer vacation.

"Wow., it looks like you guys should really get to work on that case of yours. After that, we partey." Shizuru said as she started walking to the administrative building on her left so that they can start looking for a place to stay.

The rest of the group followed her inside the building while Kuwabara mumbled something about her sister being like what he said before, 'unhelpful in Reikai cases', but no one heard this and they didn't notice that Kurama has remained standing outside, except for Yusuke who turned to gesture him to follow them.

With the usual calm impassive expression in his face, he pointed at something ahead of them. "We should get a hotel that's near that rock." He said and when Yusuke directed his eyes to the peculiar land formation, he understood Kurama's intentions.

Hovering above them, the death deity who has long been observing Yusuke and the others had also felt the surge of spiritual energy upon crossing the boundaries of Houjin. She looked at where Kurama was pointing at and she instantly sensed the beckoning feeling that the place was emitting. As the guide of departed souls to the spirit world, the feeling came to her as though hundreds of different voices where whispering at the same time, it was the same feeling that any death deity would experience if they are to pick up souls from a site where mass death had occurred, but the whisperings that were coming from the rock were weakened callings which meant they were old and if the voices were in fact coming from the souls of those who died seven hundred years ago, then it's possible that the voices were not from earth-bound spirits but from the memories or impressions that were left by those who died.

From where Botan was, it appeared to her that Kurama was proposing to get a place to stay near the rock and she silently commended him for that. She then watched as Yusuke's group exited the admin building and rode a van that took them northwards. After making sure that they're headed either to the lakeside hotels or the one beside the forest, she flew back at the entrance of the town, rendered herself invisible and landed on the branches of a lush green tree where she turned into her human form. She stripped off her kimono revealing the black dress she had underneath it and she put her brown wig back on. Carrying her luggage on each hand, she landed unnoticed on the ground then she headed to the administrative building as well.

There she was informed that all the hotels were already booked.

"B-But, where am I supposed to stay?" Botan asked the lady at the front desk hysterically. Out of the five hotels that were listed on the pamphlet that Botan was clutching with frustration, only three rooms were left and the lady just informed her that they had already been taken by a group of tourists who arrived ahead of her.

The lady looked at Botan apologetically. "I really am sorry for the inconvenience, Miss. All of our hotels are indeed fully booked. That is why we strongly advise our guests to make reservations prior to going here." She said while still trying her best to browse through the hotel data that are being constantly updated and fed on her computer screen.

Botan groaned at her misfortune and began imagining herself sleeping on her oar while hovering up the sky during her entire time in Houjin or going back and forth from Houjin to the Spirit world just to get some rest and sleep while tackling on her checklist.

"But we do have what we call our residential sites here." The lady said, waking Botan up from her desperate reverie.

"Huh? What's that?"

"Some of the old families here in Houjin are offering their houses to tourists. Mind you though, they can be very pricey and we're running out of those houses as well."

Botan positively lightened up. "Money is no object, please direct me to the nearest house!" She said energetically.

The lady sweatdropped, watching the enthusiasm the girl displayed and noticed that she may be visiting Houjin for the first time. Although unnecessary, she could not help but offer to call a house for her. She peeked through the brown haired girl's shoulder as she dialed a number and sighed inwardly at how she's going to handle the other six or eight guests in the lobby once she tells them that the hotels can no longer accommodate them or that there aren't any residential houses left as well.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Botan said beaming when the lady finally handed her a piece of paper that contained the direction to the house which she found available. According to the lady and based on the well sketched map she gave, the house is a couple of kilometers away from the administrative building and there weren't any roadway that led to it since the house was situated in the middle of a large estate that does not allow entry to any type of vehicles.

With a place to stay, Botan picked up her luggage and exited the building. She does not mind walking to the house, nor did she consider taking out her oar again to swiftly fly to the place; she had been flying for hours and a little walk would be refreshing.

She crossed the road to get to the other side of town, the Houjin archway standing tall on her right. Botan kept her eyes forward as she recalled something that Nakatsu said in the Reikai archives.

… _she ordered Nue to go after her husband and her two aged in-laws and they were killed and eaten even before crossing the arc…_

She felt a bit repulsed as she caught camera flashes in the corner of her eyes; seemed everyone who's visiting Houjin would not miss having their pictures taken infront of the archway. It was an architectural feat, it was beautiful and she could not blame anyone who would admire it.

Botan continued walking, focusing her mind on something else instead.

Upon reaching the other side of the road, Botan could already make out the wooden cottages and traditional Japanese houses that were being shielded by trees and topiaries and she fixated her eyes and attention there, noting how charming those houses were and she imagined how the house she'll rent would look like.

She needed to look for the Aramata residence.

As Botan walked further and further into the residential sites, she noticed that she was no longer seeing any cottages, rather, it looked like she was in the middle of a vast Japanese garden and she wasn't walking on a stone pathway anymore, but on a trail that was created overtime by people going through the same path.

She stopped, dropped her bags on the grass and checked the map the lady had given her. She was certain that she was following the directions correctly but she felt that if she were to continue taking the route as directed by the map, she would hit a dead end or she'd have plowed through that patch of land where the residential site was located. Botan sighed looking around. She could already feel the strain on her calves and hands due to all the walking and the carrying.

"Oh well." She said chirpily as she collected her bags from the ground and continued to follow the trail infront of her. "At least I'm sure that I'll have a house for myself tonight, I'll just need to find it." After saying this, she continued to muse over how the Aramata house would look like to keep her mind away from the fatigue that was slowly taking over her.

After a few minutes of walking and fearing that she may really be lost because trees were starting to narrow the path she was taking, she found herself standing infront of a well preserved traditional Japanese house surrounded by a picturesque foliage. Botan's heart welled up with happy approval and when she tore her eyes away from the house to look at the slab of marble on her left, her gleeful cry resounded around her.

On the marble, the family name Aramata was carved.


	8. Chapter 8 Under One Roof

Chapter VIII

**Under One Roof**

Her liveliness renewed, Botan skipped towards the house with her bags swinging at her side. Her smile widened even more when a sweet looking old lady wearing a kimono greeted her when she reached the front of the house.

"Good morning, madam." Botan said, dropping her heavy luggage again on the ground.

"Good morning to you as well, I believe you're the lucky lady who managed to get this house reserved, aren't you?"

"Yep, that's me!" Botan confirmed cheerfully, pointing at her reddened cheeks. "I'm Botan, by the way."

The old lady nodded. "You may simply call me obaasan, I'm more used to that. You didn't have a hard time finding the place, did you?" The old woman asked after noticing Botan's flushed face.

"Just a bit." Botan answered with a giggle.

"Let's have you settled inside then. I'll have some refreshments prepared for you." The old lady smiled then she started to lead Botan inside the house, gingerly lifting herself up on the wooden steps that led to the entry way, but she stopped all of a sudden when she reached the top landing that Botan feared the old lady had just been struck with an arthritis attack. "Oh, silly me… I forgot that I need to get your information first." The old lady said and with a faster pace, she entered the house and a window on the right slid open.

There Botan saw the old lady prop herself behind a desk with an old record book in hand. Behind her hung numerous silver keys and framed photos of either a very well extended family or the tourists that had rented the Aramata house in the past. On the desk was a plaque that had the name Midori Aramata.

"Please write your name here." The old lady directed. "Will your companions be arriving later? How many are there? I'm afraid we don't have enough meat. I may need to send my husband to the market. I insist that you and your companions eat dinner here instead of going out during your first day in Houjin." She said in rapid successions and Botan ended up opening her mouth and closing it a number of times when she attempted and failed to interject.

"I-I don't have companions, I came here alone." Botan finally managed to say.

"Alone, you say?" The old lady asked in a mixture of amazement and anxiety. She squinted her beady eyes and gazed at Botan from head to toe and concluded the she looked not a day older that sixteen. "How old are you? Are you a runaway? Did you use your parent's credit cards to get here?" She asked, one question after the other.

"Oh, no, no. It's not like that." Botan hurriedly said to defend herself. She has prepared herself on these types of situations and she rummaged through one of her bags to get something. "I am of legal age, I have IDs to prove it, look." She told the old lady then Botan showed her a perfectly doctored driver's license with her photo on it wearing the long brown wig and the name Botan Nakatsu.

The old lady studied the ID and after a few minutes, gave it back to Botan looking convinced. "My apologies for that outburst, dear. But it's such a shame you came here alone. I'm guessing you're here for some soul searching?"

"Uhm., well…"

"No need to answer that. Not really my concern." She said smiling. "You are fully aware though, that you will still need to pay for the use of the entire house."

"Yes. There's no problem with that."

* * *

><p>"This is really shitty." Yusuke growled as he stomped his foot hard on the ground, leaving a deep impression of his shoes behind him and the rest of the group.<p>

Keiko nudged him lightly on his arm for cursing but she does not necessarily disagree with his comments or how he was feeling. After driving to the lakeside hotel where they have been informed that their rooms were going to be ready upon arrival, they found themselves standing in the hotel lobby with about two or three other groups of greatly disappointed guests who were complaining about the hotel's lack of rooms and its manager's incompetence.

As it was Shizuru who has spoken to a representative from the town's administrative office and was the one who generally made the inquiries regarding hotel availabilities, she took it upon herself to be the one to handle the mess for their group by threatening another admin rep to find them a place to stay. And now, they're finding their way through a dense shrubbery with their heavy bags to look for a certain house the rep told them may still be available.

"Are you alright, Yukina? We have been walking for a while now, I can carry you on my back if you want." Kuwabara said, swinging his bulky bag infront of him as he offered his back but the ice maiden shook her head shyly and answered, "I'm alright, Kazuma. I think we're not that far from the house."

Shizuru groaned in frustration once more. "I can't believe this! That good for nothing- Why does he even work there if he has no idea what he's doing? If only he wasn't the one I talked to!" She screeched and she earned a comforting pat in the back by Kurama.

"I think we'll be alright. Let's just enjoy the scenery for now." He said but Shizuru only crossed her arms and continued walking or rather, stomping like Yusuke.

Kurama smiled. He admits he did feel a bit disappointed at not being able to get the location he wanted. The lakeside hotel was one of the establishments nearest to the rock he told Yusuke earlier and getting the originally planned rooms would've moved them forward with the Reikai case. However, as they were one of the unfortunate people affected by the town's inability to meet the demands brought forth by the increase of tourists, they needed to settle the problem with lodgings first before they can plan how to go about the case and just as he told Shizuru, they should enjoy the scenery for the time being.

And he in particular could not help but do so for he was in his domain. The trees, the tiny specks of yellow and white flowers popping out from dark green shrubs and the smell of fresh air was bringing him a calmness that was almost meditative.

He breathe in deeply as he grazed a nearby plant with his fingers and then he stopped.

"Yusuke, is Botan going to be joining us with this case?" Kurama asked.

Yusuke continued walking and without turning to look at Kurama, he said, "I don't know! She hasn't shown her face for days which is odd and with what's happening right now, I feel like yelling at her for not helping us out!"

Keiko sighed. "Surely she has other things on her hands aside from us." She then glanced at Kurama. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I can smell her."

* * *

><p>"So, since you've paid for the entire house, it's up to you to choose which room you would sleep in. I suggest the room with the phoenix, it offers a good view of the garden." The old lady said then she handed Botan a set of keys.<p>

"Room with a phoenix?" Botan asked with a lopsided grin.

"Well yes. The door of the room has a phoenix painted on it and the door itself is actually a na-" The old lady started explaining but she was cut off by something that she saw behind Botan.

"Uh, obaasan? What is it?" Botan wheeled around, curious as to what made the old lady stop and her eyes constricted into dots upon seeing what the old lady was looking at.

"I thought you said you came here alone?" The old lady asked in an intrigued yet pleased tone.

"I did…" Botan said in a suddenly raspy voice. Her eyes were becoming watery and her feet seemed to have been stuck on the floor.

* * *

><p>"Seriously?" Kuwabara asked, turning his head to look at Kurama. "And what does Botan even smell like?"<p>

"Like that girl there." Kurama pointed and everyone directed their eyes to a girl with long brown hair.

It was only then that they realized that they have reached the house they were looking for.

"That's not Botan!" Kuwabara yelled.

Botan flinched at the mention of her name.

"Oh look, they do know you, dear." The old woman commented happily.

_I don't want to look! _She thought when in fact she hadn't taken her eyes away from Yusuke and the others after turning to see what the old woman saw behind her. Botan's eyes fell on Kurama and she knew that he was studying her carefully.

Kurama was looking at the girl intently and contrary to what Kuwabara stated, the girl was definitely Botan. His sense of smell had never failed him and it was not only Botan's scent that allowed him to know who she really was but it was also in those purple eyes of hers, which looked like were about to cry now.

"Hello, Botan." He greeted with a friendly wave and to everyone's surprise, the girl waved and greeted them back with a familiar voice.

"H-Hello everyone…"

"Will you look at that, it is Botan." Shizuru said.

"Nice to see you, Botan." Yukina smiled and so did Kuwabara and Keiko. Yusuke however, had another thing in mind.

"Hey you!" He said with a scowl as he approached Botan. "What the hell are you doing here? You've been gone for days and we have this new case that I think you should be helping us with. We just went through one hell of a customer service back there and you're here, showing yourself all willy-nilly like you always do. You should've suffered along with us!" He said, completely ignoring the concerned look the old woman on the front desk was giving him.

"Yusuke, please!" Keiko yelled furiously.

And to Botan's alarm, Yusuke reached out to grab the fake hair from her head. "And what is up with that wi-" he tried to ask but Botan moved away to avoid his hand and she shoved her palm on Yusuke's mouth to shut him up.

"What are you talking about, Yusuke?" Botan asked, laughing nervously as she tried to look innocent. "Please don't mind him, obaasan. He always goes off like that when he's hungry." She then said to the little old lady who was anxiously watching them both.

"Why you-" Yusuke growled after yanking Botan's hand from his mouth but he was cut short by Kurama.

"Pardon me, Yusuke, but I don't think it's wise to bully the person who's already the official occupant of this house." He said calmly. "You've already paid for the place, did you not, Botan?" He asked, eyeing the glistening card on her hand.

"W-well, yes. As a matter of fact I just did."

"Oh! That's great!" Shizuru said sounding relieved. Then without saying another word, she entered the house with her bags on hand and Botan was left to gape at the situation that was rapidly unfolding infront of her.

_What's happening…? I'm supposed to be alone, far away from these people. Why did it end up like this….?_

"Botan…" Keiko's soft voice snapped Botan out from her thoughts and she looked at her. "We did have a hard time finding a place to stay and it looks like this is the last available house in the entire town." She explained and Botan could not help but feel she was being awfully selfish by still thinking that she wanted to be left alone.

"It's no problem at all, Keiko." She said with a comforting smile. "It's a good thing someone told you about this place, huh?"

Keiko let out a tired laugh. "You have no idea. Shizuru-san's losing it on the way here." She then looked apologetic. "And I'm sorry about, Yusuke."

"I'm not." Yusuke scoffed and Keiko glared at him.

"Uhm, obaasan. I think a big dinner is indeed on its way." Botan addressed the old lady and she nodded understandingly.

"You kids settle yourselves inside. I'll discuss this new arrangement and check what dinner options we have with my husband." She said kindly.

After this, Botan watched as Keiko dragged Yusuke inside the house by the ear then Kuwabara and Yukina thanked her for her generosity. She tried to jokingly say that they'll need to pay her back but they too vanished inside the house and she closed her eyes and sighed, feeling completely helpless. When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking at Kurama who was smiling at her.

"Need help with those?" He asked gesturing at the luggage on Botan's feet.

"Yes please." She said, smiling back at him.

* * *

><p>They both entered the house, with Kurama carrying his own bag on his back and one of Botan's on his right hand; Botan was left to carry her average sized, white suitcase. As soon as they stepped onto the narrow hallway they heard Keiko's angry voice resonate throughout the house as she reprimanded Yusuke for something he did wrong and Kuwabara's exclamations on how beautiful the house and the rooms were and that Yukina should see them immediately.<p>

Despite the unfavorable turn of events, Botan could not help but laugh lightly at what was happening. The house was spacious, that she can tell even without seeing the entirety of it and if she would have had it for herself,_ (which she somewhat still preferred) _then her stay in Houjin would generally be less amusing.

"Are you here to help Yusuke on the case?" Kurama asked, glancing down on his right as they find their way to the living room.

Botan shook her head. "No. Uhm… I'm here to… well. Let's just say I'm taking a bit of vacation." Botan lied.

A moment of silence enveloped them where Botan felt that she was treading on very dangerous waters. She had no intentions of disclosing to anyone what her real purpose of coming to Houjin was and even if she did not want to lie just to keep her secret, it looked like she would need to and she needed to tell her lies well, especially now that she'll be around the ever so perceptive Kurama.

And Kurama did notice that Botan was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Being about six inches taller than Botan, Kurama had been easily noting how oddly interesting it was to see the blue haired, pink kimono wearing deity sporting a completely different ensemble with her black dress and long brown hair when he saw her shoulders tense and her hold on the suitcase she was carrying tighten.

"We'll try not to get in the way of your vacation. I know we're intruding but let me just go right ahead and say I'm glad we ended up finding you." Kurama said, thinking that Botan was still reluctant to share the house with them.

_What is he saying? Doesn't he find it weird at all that I'm here in Houjin at the same time as them without any intentions of helping them with the new case? _Botan thought then she tried to muster a sincere smile to cover the bewildered expression on her face. "I don't mind it, really. It's great that you guys are here, at least I won't be alone in this house." She said afterwards then she stared at her feet.

_Maybe I should consider myself lucky. At least Kurama isn't suspicious… But I still have to be careful._

_So how do I approach this… I'm on vacation right…. And then what?_

It was starting to become awkward walking beside the person whom she'd eventually had to make up stories to and deceive that Botan felt as though the air around them was thinning, and when her arm brushed against Kurama's, she tried to stop herself from recoiling.

_Why is this hallway so long?_

Suddenly, a door on Botan's right slid open and she staggered backwards in surprise that Kurama had to steady her as Kuwabara roared excitedly about something that he managed to find.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, Kuwabara!" Botan fumed, raising her fist at the tall orange head that she didn't even notice the pair of hands that were gently grasping her shoulders.

Kuwabara merely laughed at her hissing face. "Nonsense, you're already dead! Come and see what I found." He said then he grabbed Botan's wrist and dragged her through the door.

Botan had to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness that welcomed her upon entering the room but when her eyes had adjusted to the light, she gasped at the picturesque view infront of her.

"It's beautiful…" She said in a whispered tone as her eyes surveyed the beautiful garden that was conveniently placed outside the living room they were in. Like the other houses that were in the residential site, the Aramata house had a well kept topiary garden as well but what would probably make it stand out from the rest is the pebbled walk way on the left side of the garden which led to a small wooden bridge that goes over a koi pond. On the right was a set of chairs that were now occupied by Kuwabara and Yukina and behind them was an artificial waterfall. Kuwabara had every right be excited, it was such a beautiful sight.

Not knowing that she was also becoming a subject of someone's observation, Botan stood there, framed at the wide doorway leading to the garden.

_And what does Botan even smell like? _Kurama was suddenly reminded of Kuwabara's question as he gazed at Botan's silhouette.

_Like… the dawn. _He thought and he stopped himself from walking inside the room to see what was wounding up Kuwabara. A far more interesting sight had already caught his attention.

He didn't know why but aside from the hair and the clothes, something about the ferry girl was intriguing Kurama. As soon as he saw her infront of the house, he was aware that he was making mental notes of the tiniest things he noticed about Botan.

Her lighthearted laugh and her liveliness were few of the things Kurama was already used too but for some reason, he feels like he's left hanging whenever her mirth stops or when she slowly hunches her shoulders and she retreats back to that unusually overcast expression of hers. Something was clearly bothering Botan and she's trying to hide it.

Kurama's eyes narrowed at Botan, half appreciating and half scrutinizing the ferry girl's form that was well outlined by the light coming from outside. His gaze then landed on the suitcase she was clutching on her side.

_That looks awfully familiar… _He thought and after a few moments of consideration, he realized what it was. It was the Spirit Detective tool kit.


	9. Chapter 9 And it Begins

Chapter IX

**And it Begins**

_She's clearly NOT on vacation. But if she's not here to help Yusuke then why does she have the Spirit Detective tools with her?_

_And IF she is on vacation and THAT suitcase is not what I think it is, why Houjin? There are a number of other places she could have gone to._

_She knows we're here for a mission… and she's in disguise because she's hiding from us… _

_Why?_

These questions ran through Kurama's mind as he continued observing Botan. The ferry girl was a lot of things but he never thought her mysterious. She was bubbly and talkative. She was helpful and kind. But right now, he couldn't help himself but find her captivatingly puzzling.

_What are you up to, Botan?_

"Kurama, you should definitely see this… Kurama?" Botan called but when she turned to look back at the red haired gentleman, she met his stern gaze and mistook it for a look of annoyance.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for leaving you with that heavy baggage of mine, let me just take that from you…" She said embarrassingly as she walked towards Kurama to take her bag.

Kurama tightly held on the luggage though. "No, it's alright. It's the least I could do for us intruding your _vacation_. I'll take them to your room."

"Well. Thank you but… I don't even have a room yet."

"Hey, speaking of rooms-" Kuwabara cut in, showing up behind Botan like a fast growing carrot. "I got dibs on the room beside this one. It's the one that has a picture of a bird on the door and I think it'll open up to this garden too."

"I didn't know you've also grown an interest in plants."Kurama commented.

"It's for Yukina." Kuwabara said in a low voice.

"By bird, do you mean a firebird? That's supposed to be my room, obaasan told me about it first." Botan pouted.

"Yeah, but I called dibs on it first."

Kurama was about to point out that it was Botan who generally owns the house so she should make the decisions but the mischievous cat like expression on Botan's face told him that she had something in mind that would counter Kuwabara.

"I don't know how that dib thing works but I think the person who holds the keys…" Botan dangled a set of keys infront of Kuwabara's face. "..is the one who gets to pick rooms."

"Hey come on!" Kuwabara pleaded.

"Sorry, Kuwabara." Botan said merrily then she walked towards the next room, with Kurama and Kuwabara close behind her.

Just as the old woman was telling Botan earlier, a phoenix was indeed painted on the door of the next room. The phoenix was perched on a cherry blossom tree and the firebird split in half after Botan slid the door open, revealing a quaint spacious room.

"Hmp! It doesn't look that great." Kuwabara grumbled but Botan and Kurama knew that he was just saying it out of frustration.

The room was beautiful just like the rest of what they have already seen in the house and even though the Aramata house was old, the furniture in the living room and the phoenix room was kept modern because instead of a futon, there was a large bed in the phoenix room, a television and even a stereo. In the living room, Botan noticed that there were two leather couches and some bean bags in the corner.

Not wanting to frustrate Kuwabara even more, Botan didn't proceed to opening the sliding doors at the other side of the room to see if it would really lead to the garden. She just turned to Kurama and asked him to place her bag near the night stand.

"Here you go." Botan then said, handing Kurama the other keys. "You guys should find which rooms you want as well. We'll meet back at the living room in a few minutes, obaasan told me that she'll get us some snacks. I'll just need to remove this." She pointed at her wig.

"Yeah, you better. You look ridiculous." Kuwabara snorted. "Come on Kurama!" He said as he went back to the living room for Yukina.

"Oh dear. I really annoyed him, didn't I? Hmmm… I hope he didn't promise this room to Yukina. I'll trade rooms if that's the case."

"I think he was planning it to be a surprise." Kurama said as he hadn't left Botan's room yet.

"Does it really look that bad?" Botan asked as she gathered her brown hair to one side.

Kurama smiled reassuringly. "No, but I think blue would still look better on you."

"Aww… Thanks Kurama!" She said warmly.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes, everyone did gather in the living room where refreshments have been served by obaasan and a couple of female helpers. It took a while before Botan was able to join them though because of a wig issue. She decided to let her hair down for a while and she met obaasan just outside the living room with an empty tray in her hand.<p>

"Dear, your friends are all in there." The old lady gestured at the closed door. "And what's your name, if I may ask?"

"Eh?" Botan sweatdropped. "It's me, obaasan. It's Botan."

The little old lady gave Botan a very much anticipated perplexed look. "What happened to your hair?"

"I… dyed it." She answered awkwardly and the old lady stared at her for a good ten seconds.

_I'm doomed, if I can't even keep a straight face while making up stories to obaasan, how can I make it through with the others? _Botan thought frantically as she waited for the old lady to speak.

"My..my… I didn't know hair dyeing can be done that fast." Obaasan finally remarked looking amazed. "Science has indeed taken us ladies forward when it comes to making ourselves beautiful, hasn't it? Maybe I should have my hair dyed as well?" She added in a wistful tone.

Botan then watched with wide disbelieving eyes as the old lady simply walked away, still dwelling on the idea of dyeing her gray hair. When she disappeared at the entryway, Botan let out a sigh of relief.

_That was close… _Botan thought as she composed herself. After that, she entered the living room to join the others. All that tension was making her hungry.

In the living room Botan found Yusuke slouched on one of the sofas, almost occupying half of it. Kuwabara and the girls were outside and Kurama was leaning at the doorway to the garden; his back was turned against the living room and it seemed that he was engaged in conversation with one of the female helpers.

"So… do you have any message for us from Koenma?" Yusuke asked when he saw Botan came in and his tone clearly says that he's still ticked off about something.

Botan sighed. "Look, I'm sorry Yusuke but I'm off the clock for now. I'm here for a well deserved vacation and no, I don't have any message from Lord Koenma."

"What? You've got to be kidding me! So you specifically went here to Houjin just to rub it in our faces that we're gonna be working our asses off while you lie around all day?"

Botan was slightly taken aback. That was one of the questions she could've avoided if she had successfully kept away from Yusuke and the others.

"I'm not here to rub it in, Yusuke. This place has been suggested by a friend. Being on vacation breaks such as this one is a really rare opportunity so I couldn't have it re-scheduled. I do know that you guys are gonna be here, I just never expected that I'll actually bump into you and I tried to avoid that by wearing a disguise!"

_That explains why she chose Houjin… the hair and the clothes…but what about the suitcase? Are you supposed to give it to Yusuke? _Kurama thought as he screened out the voice of the lady beside him.

"And shouldn't you be thankful that I'm actually here? If it wasn't for me you won't have a house to stay. And the fact that you brought, Keiko, Shizuru and Yukina with you. What were you thinking? If anyone should get mad, that's me!" Botan yelled, jabbing a thunderstrucked Yusuke on the shoulder.

In an instant, Yusuke and Botan switched roles; Botan was now the one who's furious and Yusuke just sat there trying to explain himself.

"It isn't my fault they came along. It was Shizuru's idea." Yusuke explained.

"You're the leader of the team! You should know how to handle people because you're accountable for them!-" Botan suddenly paused. "But of course!" She then said, her lips curling into a knowing smile. "If it was Keiko who persuaded you then you're nothing but powerless!"

Yusuke almost fell off his seat at how close Botan has gotten to the truth.

Kurama smiled inwardly. As much as he wanted to actually smile, he couldn't without being completely rude towards the young lady who was currently telling him something about how difficult it was to maintain the Aramata residence. Kurama didn't know how him asking the lady if they had orange juice led to the details of her tedious housework, nevertheless, he must end the conversation to focus on something more interesting.

"It was nice meeting you, Anko-san." He said politely, cutting their rather one sided chat at the appropriate moment.

"It was nice meeting you too, Kurama-san." She said demurely then she left the room.

"Yusuke, you have to keep everyone in check during this mission, okay. It can become very dangerous." Kurama heard Botan warn Yusuke as he sat down at the other couch opposite the two.

"You don't have to tell me. I know." Yusuke said then he stuffed his mouth with a rice ball and washed it down with a can of root beer.

"So you're familiar with the case then?" Kurama asked and in less than half a second, he watched as a conflict of expressions wash over Botan's eyes before she was able to answer.

"Yes, I'm familiar with it… a bit." She said. "Don't they have orange juice?" She then asked as she surveyed the selection of beverages on the table.

"They don't, I already asked." Kurama answered.

"I see… so, uh.., where's Hiei by the way? Isn't he worried about those two?" Botan asked again, throwing a glance at Kuwabara and Yukina at the garden.

Kurama smiled. "Hiei is a little busy at the moment and it may not look like it but he trusts Kuwabara. He also told me that he'll _gladly _give us a hand on the case if we're having problems finishing it."

Yusuke groaned. "So how about that rock then, Kurama? Should we go there now?"

Kurama casually moved his eyes away from Botan and focused it elsewhere. "I think we should familiarize ourselves with the basic landscape of the town first so we can save time if we need to check other locations. But that rock is a good place to start."

"That's first on the agenda tomorrow then. And what's next?"

Botan peered at the two men over the glass of iced tea she picked from the table as silence succeeded Yusuke's question.

_What about the Houjin documents? Aren't you supposed to get some information there to get a lead on this case? _She thought.

"Uhm.., I hate to be told I'm being nosy or anything but, didn't Lord Koenma provide you with any information? At all?" Botan asked.

"That other ferry girl gave us a tape and—oh yeah! That old book!" Yusuke exclaimed then he turned to scream at Kuwabara who was still trotting beside Yukina in the garden.

"Hey, Kuwabara! Where's that old book that came with the tape? I left it at your house right? We need to look at that!"

"Well, there you go, maybe you should start reading that so-" Botan began to say but she suddenly stopped, her eyes widening at the realization of something really important and she choked at the last sip of ice tea she took.

"Are you alright?" Kurama asked worriedly, rising from his chair.

With a hand over her mouth, she waved the other at Kurama, motioning at him that she's fine. "W-wow, this iced tea has got some kick in it huh?" Botan managed to say after she cleared her throat.

_What am I doing egging them on to read something that has me on it?_

_Wait? Would they know the blue haired girl is me? They won't right? Well, not unless they'd make the same ridiculous-ish connections I did… It's not like they know I'm the only blue haired female in the spirit world. What about Nakatsu's name… Does anyone here know her?_

_I can't risk it!_

"Hey Kuwabara! Where is it?" Yusuke yelled again.

"Gaaaaaa! I think I forgot them at home!" Kuwabara screamed back.

"What? Like your boxers?" Shizuru said, pushing Kuwabara aside and then stepping in on the living room. "I have it in my bag."

"You have… Kuwabara's boxers… in your bag…?" An unfathomable expression was plastered on Yusuke's face and Shizuru didn't appreciate it.

"I meant the book." She said sternly. "I'm gonna go get it."

"I'll come with you." Botan said, standing up. "I wanna see what your room looks like." She added running after Shizuru.

* * *

><p>Although Botan meant what she said about wanting to see Shizuru's room, she had a far more purposeful intention of coming with Kuwabara's older sister and that is to get her hands on the Houjin documents first before it's brought to Yusuke and the others. And as much as she hated causing damage to the ancient document even more than what she'd already done, she would rip off the page that contained the passage about the blue haired girl from it. She had no other choice.<p>

As far as she can recall, there weren't any important information that was contained in that particular page so she's guilt free of preventing Yusuke's progress with the case. Surely, no one would give notice if the book has a missing page, it was old and thanks to her, it was all beat-up.

"So Kurama told us that you're here on vacation." Shizuru said as she grabbed her bag from the foot of her bed while Botan looked around in her room.

"Yes. It's quite rare, really." She said mindlessly.

"Us too. Well… Keiko, Yukina, and I are on vacation. I don't know about the boys." Shizuru said sneering.

"I don't think it was wise to come along with Yusuke though. With the mission and all."

"It would make things more interesting." Shizuru looked at her. "You're here."

"The place has been suggested by a friend." Botan said, repeating the reason she gave Yusuke just moments ago for being in Houjin at the same time as them.

"Here it is." Shizuru finally said, pulling out the ever so familiar Houjin documents from the bottom of her bag. "Oh crap…" She added when she heard the unmistakable sound of paper being torn.

"B-Be careful…" Botan said as she took the book from Shizuru, wincing at her own words when it contradicted what she was planning to do with the document.

"Now my bag smells stuffy."

Botan turned around and she almost hit the door as she hurriedly browsed through the document. She easily found the page she was looking for and slowly and quietly, she crumpled it with one hand, making sure that Shizuru did not notice, then, she discreetly slipped the ball of paper inside the pocket of her dress.

And the deed was done.

"O-Obaasan mentioned earlier that—well, actually she sort of insisted that we eat dinner here tonight. Do you have any plans of going out later?" Botan asked as they walked back to the living room. Her heart was still fluttering madly in her chest because of what she just did she felt she had to say something just to ease the tension she's feeling.

"Yeah… The old lady did mention something about that dinner. I think she's nice. And to tell you the truth, we don't really know where we're going tonight or the following days. If it were up to me, I think staying in the house would suffice for a satisfying vacation. Do you know that they have a sauna?

"Really? Don't tell me they have a swimming pool out there that we haven't seen yet?"

"Can't wait to find out." Shizuru said and upon entering the living room again, she took the book from Botan and dropped it on Yusuke's lap then she headed to the garden.

"That book's going to turn into dust if we keep handling it like that." Kuwabara, who has joined the other guys in the living room said.

"You handle it then." Yusuke threw the book at Kuwabara. "You're the one who's so eager to read that back at your house."

Kuwabara gritted his teeth and the glaring between him and Yusuke started. Kurama just sighed.

"For goodness sake guys. Just start reading the book." Botan said then she turned her head towards the door as the old lady came in again and this time she had a tray of fruit in her hands. She was followed by the lady who was speaking with Kurama earlier and she had a glass of what looked like orange juice on the tray she's carrying.

"Obaasan, you didn't have to bring us food this many." Botan said, suddenly noticing that the wooden table in the living room is already filled with snacks and drinks.

"No worries, dear. You've already paid for all these. And the melons are just ripe enough to eat."

"Here you go, Kurama-san. It seems that we have orange juice all along." The much younger lady said cheerfully as she handed the glass of orange juice to Kurama.

"Thank you, Anko-san." Kurama said in his typical unintentional ardent tone and the young lady positively swooned. However, Kurama did not accept the glass and instead he gestured that Anko give it to the blue haired girl sitting opposite him.

"Botan." Kurama prompted and Botan's eyes went from Kurama, to the glass of orange juice that was being handed to her and to the face of the young lady who was trying to hide her disappointment underneath her strained smile.

"Uh… Thank you." Botan said and she could not help but feel sorry for the girl as she walked away.

"I think she made this for you, Kurama…" Botan whispered and the red haired male merely crossed his legs and directed his attention to the old lady.

"Obaasan, when we entered the town, we saw this tall gray rock… is that one of the favored tourist spots here in Houjin?" He asked and Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan listened to what the old lady had to say.

"The rock itself no." The old lady answered. "We call it the great tombstone because it looks like one and the place is riddled with tombstones. It's rare for tourists to go there but what you shouldn't miss is going to the Utagawa temple. It was actually built on the great tombstone but despite its location, the temple is quite magnificent."

"Hey, that's where I'm going!" Botan exclaimed before she could even stop herself.

"I'm fond of it myself but with those stairs, my knees would just give up. The last time I myself visited the place was around eight years ago."

"How old is that temple?" Yusuke asked.

"It's been there for centuries. I'm not sure how long exactly. After going to the Utagawa temple, you can also go boating in the lake, we also have casinos-although I strongly object to immersing yourself in gambling—and our parks, and the forest behind the great tombstone are also fine places to go."

"Excuse me obaasan, the Utagawa shrine… was that owned by a, I dunno, a certain family?" Kuwabara asked unexpectedly and Kurama noticed that he was hiding the open Houjin documents underneath the table while he scanned through it.

"You can say that. If I am not mistaken, an Utagawa family once owned this entire town. The Utagawa shrine was maintained as a historical landmark and in honor of a maiden named Tamamo Utagawa."

Botan looked down on the untouched orange juice in her hand and she swirled the two floating ice cubes in it with a straw. She could feel her blood seethe as the old lady good naturedly told them what she knew about Tamamo Utagawa; her beauty, her kindness, her generosity and her supposed sad relationship with her grandfather. Botan wanted to stand up and leave, or at least throw something and here it crash into a wall, hear it break like her heart. The Utagawa temple was her home and the monks' home. What twist in history occurred that the temple became a tribute to Tamamo.

She closed her eyes, opened it and aimed it at the garden.

"… _she made herself appear as though she was a victim… and she had successfully gained the town's sympathy."_

Of course. Tamamo was the one who twisted it.

"You look tired, Botan." A gentle voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she gazed at the owner of it. "Do you want me to take you to your room?" Kurama said.

"Ah! No! I'm not tired!" She hurriedly said, perking up._ How long has he been watching me? Am I that transparent? Oh no…_

"A-and besides_, _it's a beautiful day. I wouldn't wanna coop myself inside my room._" _Botan added then she decided to join Yukina, Keiko, and Shizuru outside.

Kurama turned his attention back to the old lady but she continued to watch the ferry girl from the corner of his jade eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Thanks to everyone who's been following this story! (^_^)**

Thanks to **Donna Rossa** and **Danielle Winters** for the review of the previous chapters. Technically I only have two reviews but hey, at least I have two., hee-hee., never really expected that this story would be read in the first place.

Thanks to **crescentmoon-cat** for adding this story to the "**Fox and Deity, now and forever, souls intertwined in an endless destiny**" community.

Lastly, thanks to those who added this to their story alerts:  
><strong>Donna Rossa <strong>  
><strong>Emmitha <strong>  
><strong>Thornspike <strong>  
><strong>Twisted Musalih<strong>

I hope I'm not letting you guys down :)


	10. Chapter 10 The Utagawa Temple

Chapter X

**The Utagawa Temple**

The dinner at the Aramata house was heavenly and everyone had no problem drifting to sleep after the meal. That is except for a certain blue haired girl who was once again, staring at the ceiling for the third night in a row. At the very least, Botan was thankful that the ceiling she was staring at now was different from the one in her room back in the Spirit world. Sleep has once again evaded her and when she glanced at the clock on the wall, she found that it was almost ten in the evening. She had been staring at the dark wooden ceiling for two hours.

A lot of things had added to what was already bothering her; namely, Yusuke and the others. This little escapade in Houjin was supposed to be something that she'd do alone, she was hoping to go to the town's different sites at her own pace with the hope of learning more about herself and the people who cared for her in the past, but now, she had to consider Yusuke and the others first before carrying out what she wanted to do, before saying something and even before reacting to certain things that are said by the others. She'd been caught by Kurama twice now; thankfully she had easily passed off those thoughtless reactions of her as pure coincidental foolishness.

Tomorrow would be another day and she had to be even more cautious; once again, especially around Kurama. They would all go to the Utagawa temple tomorrow morning and while the girls and her look around the temple, the guys would sneak out to survey the great tombstone to try and find helpful leads to the Nue case.

Botan yanked the covers off of her. The mere thought of Nue was aggravating for it leads her into thinking about Tamamo. The names were just too synonymous to one another now that she can't mention the name of the demon in her head without automatically thinking of the other monster.

She sat up and decided that a walk in the garden might distract her and tire her enough to go to sleep.

She slipped on a pair of slippers and headed to the second door of her phoenix room, the one that led to the garden, however, she had merely slid it open an inch or so when she spotted something that made her stop. Someone else was already in the garden. He was leaning back on the rails of the wooden bridge above the koi pond, gazing up at the sky.

"Ku-" Botan began to say but she bit her lip to silence herself for fear of being heard by Kurama. She's aware of the half demon-half human's keen sense of everything and she did not want to disturb him.

The night summer air was cool and it found its way into Botan's room through the small gap on the door. She remained standing there though, watching, curious as to what Kurama was doing in the garden alone.

_Can't sleep too huh?_Botan thought.

After a while, she found herself sitting down on the floor, her legs folded close to her chest and her chin resting on her knees. Her eyes still locked on Kurama.

A lot of people would say, and have said that Kurama was beautiful, like a woman. But for Botan, she never thought Kurama looked like a woman at all but she admits he is beautiful. And it's not just on the outside, it's on the inside as well. She could still remember when Yusuke told her about Kurama's reason for stealing the Forlorn hope. It was quite unprecedented, what his wish had been; to save his human mother's life in exchange of his. She hasn't heard of anything like it. And to think that she initially thought he was setting a trap for Yusuke. After that incident, everything just fell into its place; the great Makai thief, Yoko Kurama turned human became one of Spirit world's most prominent allies and in Botan's opinion, a treasured friend.

Botan tilted her head and quirked an eyebrow as she tried to survey Kurama's face. He looked like he was contemplating on something really serious.

_The mission perhaps?_

She didn't really know and she was not in the position to assume what the red head could be thinking. Apart from knowing him as the good looking, mild mannered member of the Reikai Tantei, she also knew how intelligent he was. It's something she admired about Kurama and who was she to infer what was going on inside their strategist's head?

_I should really go to sleep…_Botan thought and to her surprise, she actually yawned.

_So.., watching Kurama makes me sleepy?_Botan silently laughed at the idea then she stood up, shut the door close and lied back down on her bed.

She closed her eyes, with the image of Kurama's profile still vivid in her mind.

Unknown to him that he just became someone's sleeping pill, Kurama headed inside the house to get some sleep as well.

* * *

><p>Botan woke up at the sound of indistinct mutterings and she rose from her bed with a start. It was seven in the morning and as she strained her ears to hear what was going on on the other side of the wall near her head, it seemed that Keiko and some of the guys were already up and were having breakfast in the living room.<p>

After taking a quick shower, she strode to the next room wearing a light pink long sleeved blouse tucked in a pair of white low rise denim shorts. Her hair was in that usual high ponytail and she finished her entire look with her fluffy indoor slippers.

In the living room she found that the table was once again filled with food and sitting around it was a glum looking Yusuke and a slightly flustered Kurama.

"What's going on?" Botan curiously asked. She looked at Kurama but he chose to remain silent so she glanced at Yusuke.

"Keiko hit me." Yusuke mumbled.

"Why? Because you didn't get up early?" She asked, noticing that Yusuke was still wearing his pajama bottoms which he paired with a plain shirt; a far cry in style when compared to what Kurama was wearing which was a crisp, white long sleeved shirt and a pair of dark wash jeans.

"I don't know. I woke up earlier than her. She just came in here and hit me."

Botan sweatdropped. "Are you sure you didn't do anything to upset her? Where is she now?"

"She's there. I think she's trying to kill the koi fish." Yusuke pointed at the garden and Botan craned her neck to see where Keiko was from where she was sitting and she saw her, clad in an immaculately white dress that had details of cut out flowers at the hem.

"Oh Yusuke you fool…" Botan muttered. "It's what you didn't do that got you hit." She said in a half amused, half sympathetic tone. "Don't you notice anything about Keiko?"

"Well, her punches are getting harder lately."

Botan placed her hands on her hips and groaned. "How do I explain it to a guy like you?"

Kurama cleared his throat, leaned forward and gazed directly into Botan's eyes.

"Maybe a demonstration can help Yusuke." He said coolly.

"Right!" Botan agreed. "But what exactly do you mea-"

"You look great today, Botan." Kurama began and Botan finally understood what he meant by demonstration.

"Well, thank you for noticing, Kurama." She answered, grinning. "You look great yourself."

"Pink has always complemented you well."

"You look great in anything."

Yusuke watched the entire exchange of compliments between Botan and Kurama like someone watching a tennis match. Out of frustration, he slammed his hands on the leather couch, stood up and headed straight into the garden.

"Do you think he got what we're trying to tell him?" Botan asked worriedly.

Kurama shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

><p>It appears that everything had gone well though as they departed from the Aramata residence and took a van to the great tombstone. The weather was perfect, Yusuke and Keiko seemed to be getting along again and after a seven minute ride, Shizuru, Keiko and Kuwabara were able to point out a number of interesting looking places that they said they would want to go to once the Nue case was done, or if the situation permits it, even in the middle of working on the case.<p>

As for Botan, even with her own _case_ hovering above her head like an ugly gray cloud, she couldn't help but join in with the group's lively conversation and from time to time, she would silently thank fate that she actually ended up having her friends with her at that difficult time.

However, everyone in the van was gripped by silence as an eerie looking site started to appear on their right and they watched as it grew closer and closer. From a distance, the great tombstone looked nothing more but a peculiar land formation that sprouted at the edge of town but at close proximity, Yusuke and the others realized what obaasan meant by 'riddled with tombstone'.

The foot of the great tombstone was surrounded with countless grave markers and stone coffins, some of them have clearly existed for a long time because the roots of the trees near them have crept up and have cracked open the tombs. Some of the grave markers were broken and as Yusuke and the team trailed their eyes on the towering rock before them, they saw about a hundred or more gravestones that almost reached the top of the rock. The great tombstone was nothing more but a vertical cemetery.

The van went around the great tombstone and stopped at a more eye pleasing side of the rock and there they saw a set of red staircases leading up to the Utagawa Temple.

"Now that's a better view." Kuwabara said as he helped Yukina out of the car.

"It's strange… It's actually _peaceful_ here." Yukina commented.

"Well, we're infront of a temple after all." Yusuke said and they began climbing up the steep red stairs along with the hundred tourists who were visiting the temple that morning.

The interior of the temple was a bit dim and the walls and pillars were covered with soot that came from all the incense that had been lit by visitors throughout the years that the temple has existed. Kuwabara was about to make a snide comment on how Master Genkai's temple looked more interesting but he bit his tongue when they entered the second chamber of the temple where a twenty feet high bronze statue of a male divinity welcomed them, and on either side of him were about ten life-size models of other divinities, enclosed in glass cases. The ceiling of the temple's second chamber was slightly blackened by soot as well, however, this did not prevent anyone from being astounded by the graceful dragon that was carved on it.

_This is where I lived… Where I grew up… It's wonderful…_Botan thought pensively as she tried to appreciate all that she was seeing; trying to imagine herself as a little girl, stepping into that temple seven hundred years ago.

Botan can honestly admit that the thoughts that were running in her head were nothing but silly, unfounded, assumptions of what her past life may have been but she felt happy, the surreal kind of happy as she asked herself if she had placed her feet at the very same spot where she's standing at the moment, or if she also thought that the giant divinity's nose looked crooked seven hundred years ago.

She was too engrossed on all the things she was seeing that she did not notice that she had gone astray from the group. In fact, everyone has;

The second chamber of the temple was considerably large and not only did it house statues of divinities, it also contained different artworks and relics from centuries before. Yusuke's interest was caught by a statue of a golden frog, Keiko, Shizuru and Yukina have gathered around a hair comb encrusted with jewels, Kuwabara lost himself staring at a giant calligraphy of the word 'Love' and Kurama was examining an old a dagger with an ivory handle and scabbard.

Botan was just standing in the middle of it all when she was approached by a man wearing a black kimono.

"I see that our dragon has captured your attention." He said and his unfamiliar deep sounding voice made Botan jump. "My apologies, I do not mean to startle you." He added with an apologetic smile.

Botan stepped back a bit and she studied the man. He was tall and appears to be at his twenties, he had black hair and light gray eyes, quite good looking, and he was smiling warmly at her as though he wanted to say something.

"Uhm., may I help you?" Botan asked awkwardly.

The man laughed softly. "My name is Rokuro Tadashi and I am one of the keepers of the temple. I noticed that you had been staring at the dragon on the ceiling for some time now and I wondered if I can help you answer some questions you may have."

"Oh, I see." Botan said cheerfully and as she looked around, she noticed other men in black kimonos as well.

"Well… I do have a question but it has nothing to do with dragons." Botan began. "I was wondering if… you happen to know anything about the original dwellers of this temple."

"Ah yes. As the name implies it, the Utagawa family commissioned the construction of this place, specifically to become the home of Lord Utagawa's advisors. Lord Utagawa had five notable monks as advisors and we are actually preparing an exhibit of their regalia and their other possessions on Thursday."

"Thursday? Why, that's still three days from now." Botan said and the disappointment was apparent in her voice.

"Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it…" Rokuro said. "But surely, there are still a lot of interesting exhibits here in the temple at the moment."

"Yes… I suppose. But why Thursday?"

"It's the town' anniversary on Thursday and we are going to take part in it by opening the new exhibit."

"I see… I understand." Botan muttered mindlessly. She only had two days left in Houjin and if she extended her so called vacation just to get a glimpse of the new exhibit, Koenma might have already recovered from his illness and her absence from the Spirit world would not go unnoticed and she'll get Nakatsu in trouble.

"The exhibit on Thursday would most definitely be one of the most important exhibits that will ever be a part of this temple, but if I may…" Rokuro gestured his hand forward and started walking, Botan followed him and one by one, he began showing the blue haired girl the highlights of the temple.

* * *

><p>"Hey, that's kindda cool." Yusuke commented as he stood beside Kurama who was studying a certain artifact at the corner of the temple. Kurama did not answer and he kept gazing at the dagger. He was not interested on the old blade that still looked sharp enough to cut through flesh; he was most certainly not. What he's interested in was the material that the dagger's handle and scabbard was made of.<p>

The handle and the dagger' sheath looked like they were made of ivory at first but seconds later, under Kurama's experienced and scrutinizing eyes, he realized that ivory was not what they were made of.

If only he could touch it.

But the dagger, like all the other artifacts in the temple were enclosed in glass and somewhere underneath that dark blue velvety cushion in which the dagger was laid will surely be an alarm that would go off once the dagger was disturbed.

_Like that's going to be a problem._

"Kurama.., are you… grinning?" Yusuke asked, mentally edging away from his red head friend.

Kurama turned to Yusuke and he met the confused look on his face. The look was bordering on suspicion and with the feeling of elation that was slowly ebbing away from his body, Kurama had suddenly become aware that his thieving demon side had taken over.

"I think I just found something that would help us with the case." Kurama said, hoping that it would explain the supposed grin he was giving earlier.

"What? Really?" Yusuke's tone was now interested.

"The handle of that dagger, and the scabbard, is made from the bone of a demon. The way it's curved actually tells me it's a tooth."

The two stared at each other, their minds flooding with the details of Nue's resurrection which involved his fangs.

"Are you sure it's from a demon?" Yusuke asked, staring at the innocent looking dagger inside the glass case.

"Almost."

Yusuke's eyebrows met.

"I need to feel it."

"And how do we know that that is _our_ demon's tooth?"

Kurama pointed at the small placard at the base of the glass case. "It's from the Ashikaga era. Approximately seven hundred years ago. About the same time Nue reigned over this town. Nue was powerful, only a demon foolish enough to not think of the grave consequences of entering Nue's territory would try to step inside his domain during those times."

"Well… if you say so." He sighed. He didn't want to sound like he doubted Kurama, but Yusuke needed to repeat his sentiments. "Do you think, this is really it? Nue's fang? It seems… too easy."

"I suppose it is…"

"Heck!" Yusuke suddenly smiled widely. "I guess it's just easy because we have you—I mean, can any other person look at that thing and say it's a demon's tooth?"

"Actually, yes. If you're a demon and you're experienced enough to determine differences on skeletal remains." Kurama answered.

"So… if being a demon and being smart is a requirement, then the one organizing the resurrection is neither?"

"We can hope for that. But this is just one tooth. That means it came from a set."

"Geez!" Yusuke scratched his head irritably. They were nowhere near solving the case or knowing who's behind it. It was like finding a piece of a puzzle and having no idea where to put it. "Excuse me! Mister, yes, you-" He suddenly called at the temple guide standing a few feet away from them.

They definitely needed someone who would tell them more about the dagger.

* * *

><p>Rokuro paused and turned at the voice calling him. "Excuse me, Miss Botan."<p>

"Yusuke? What is he barking on about now?" Botan mumbled to herself but Rokuro heard it and turned back to her.

"Is he a friend of yours?"

"Sadly, yes."

"And is that his girlfriend with him?" Rokuro asked, referring to the red head beside Botan's yelling friend.

Botan didn't mean to do it but she glared at Rokuro. "How can you even think that Kurama's a girl? He's a guy! Can't you see that?" She said rather harshly, loud enough that Yusuke and Kurama could hear.

Kurama was not able to hear it though. All his attention had gone to seeing, not hearing, when he saw Botan standing excessively close to another man. His vision tunneled even more as he watched the man's hand move towards Botan's upper arm, brushing it lightly.

He was well aware that the action only took a second or so but to him it happened in slow motion. It was so slow that if forever had existed, the man's hand remained on Botan for that long. He saw how his thumb circled against the sleeves of Botan's blouse, pressing on her skin.

Well meaning or not. It was too intimate for Kurama's liking.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. You're right, he is a guy." Rokuro apologized, finally removing his hand from Botan's arm.

At that moment, another temple guide passed by and Rokuro wheeled around grabbing his colleague on the shoulder. "Yori." He called and he signaled him to attend to Yusuke.

The man named Yori nodded but before leaving, he looked at Botan then he and Rokuro exchanged meaningful glances that did not escape Kurama's notice.

He clenched his jaw. He had seen enough.

"Kurama, whre are you-" Yusuke began to ask but the stoic look on his face silenced him. _Crap! He must be pissed with the girl comment._

Kurama walked towards Botan and the temple guide she was with, leaving Yusuke still standing beside the glass case containing the dagger.

Rokuro's colleague approached Yusuke and the latter tried his best to ask the correct questions to learn more about the dagger.

* * *

><p>"As I was saying, Miss Botan…" Rokuro continued, pointing back at the small golden figure of a divinity that was sitting on a lotus flower. "This was donated to us by one of the old families here in Houjin. It's made of pure gold and…"<p>

Botan fought the urge to yawn. She had no interest on other artifacts that did not originally belong to the Utagawa temple. She wanted to see the monk's regalia and she was hoping that Rokuro would tell her more about them. However, the keeper of the temple was doing his job well; whenever she would try to mention the new exhibit, he would direct their conversation to another artifact, something supposedly greater, more beautiful, more interesting.

She wanted to leave, but Rokuro had been nice to her. Nice enough to attend to her personally and it was apparent that he took pride on presenting the temple artifacts to her. He was answering all the questions she asked and so far, she had learned the names of the five monks.

They were standing side by side and Botan was half listening to what Rokuro was saying when she felt him lean in closer to her and whisper something.

"Once the crowd thins, I can take you to the room where we're setting up the exhibit that'll open on Thursday. A private show, you can call it. How would you like that?"

"Really?" Botan's eyes widened with delight but the smile on her face slowly fell when she saw how Rokuro's eyes fell on her neck, then lower.

She felt her skin crawl and instinct told her to walk away, forget about the enticing offer and just walk away. However, she just stood there, speechless. She could not believe the transformation that was occurring infront of her and she inwardly apprehended herself for thinking how admirable the temple guide was, just moments ago.

"Well, what do you say?" Rokuro said and the friendly smile he wore on his face suddenly didn't look so friendly to Botan at all and she looked away from him.

"I-I don't know, wouldn't you get in trouble?" She managed to say

"Yes. But I think your company would be worth it." He flashed a smile again.

_What a creep!_Botan's inner voice yelled and she felt the hair on her neck stand on end when a hand slowly swept around her waist. Her head snapped towards Rokuro, ready to scream out what her inner voice had just said when instead of seeing Rokuro's face, she saw Kurama's.

He had stood between Botan and Rokuro and it was his hand that was around Botan's waist. There wasn't much distance between the blue haired deity and the temple guide but Kurama easily resolved that by casually pushing Botan aside with his body and grasping her tightly by the waist so she wouldn't fall.

"Interesting…" Kurama said, leaning towards the glass case to get a better look at the golden figure infront of them and in the process, resting his chin on Botan's shoulder; strands of his red hair entangling with Botan's light blue ones.

"You say it's made of gold?" Kurama asked, straightening up. His other hand was still securely holding Botan and he could feel her pressing against him even more. He heard what the temple guide was offering Botan earlier but more importantly, he heard how he said it. He saw the aversion on Botan's face and he was granted a more valid reason to steal Botan away from the man.

"Yes. It's obviously made of gold, is it not?" Rokuro answered and there was a trace of hostility in his tone.

Botan tugged at Kurama's shirt, ushering him that they leave but Kurama stood his ground. She looked up at him, and saw the calm expression on his face but his eyes, there was something in his eyes. She thought they looked dark and murderous.

She blinked and the expression was gone.

"I think I should go. It was nice meeting you." Rokuro said coldly, leaving Kurama and Botan a bitter look.

Kurama slowly let go of Botan and he smiled at her, making her rethink what she thought she saw in his eyes earlier.

"Thank you…" Botan said meekly then she sighed heavily. "Who would've thought that guy was such a.. a…"

"It's alright, he's gone now. It would be best that you do not entertain any further attempts from him though… or from any of his friends."

Botan looked down. As thankful as she was for being saved by Kurama, the chances of her viewing the monks' exhibit dwindled to zero at the loss of Rokuro and it looked like she may need to resort to a more desperate measure if she wanted to get things done before Thursday.

"You were really interested on that exhibit he wanted to take you to. May I ask why?" Kurama asked.

Botan gazed up at him looking caught off guard but she recovered quickly. "Clearly, that guy was showing off. He was telling me that I'll get a private viewing of the exhibit they'll open on Thursday. He said it was supposed to be cool… or something."

Kurama instantly knew that she was lying but he made no answer. However, a familiar entity inside of him had something to say.

_What terrible liar this curious, charming creature is…_

As soon as these words were thought of, a pleasant yet almost painful sensation started welling up inside Kurama's chest. The feeling was only made worse when his eyes lingered on Botan's face, wanting to catch more of the minute changes in her expression which would further expose the fact that she was hiding something. He knew Botan had every right to keep things to herself, lie if she must, but he had an inexplicable desire to know what she's thinking and the urge to get close to her again.

The blue haired girl was merely standing there, thanking him and pouting at what had occurred between her and the seemingly good-natured temple attendant, but all those little things, Kurama had confusingly admitted, were attracting him to her, like metal to a magnet.

He tried to subdue the feeling. He was never the type to entertain or prolong confusion and though significantly delayed, he began asking himself what it was about the deity that was drawing him in.

Botan sighed and she thanked Kurama again for which could be the fourth time, then they remained standing silently next to each other. Botan was in no hurry to leave Kurama's side and she waited until the tourists and the guides (especially Rokuro) have entered the temple's succeeding chamber which was behind the giant bronze divinity.

Being with Kurama without the worry of getting into some sort of unnecessary conflict with Rokuro, Botan finally noticed the faint smell of roses coming from him. She almost commented on this, in a form of a compliment of course but thought better of it. So instead, she turned to address Kurama with another topic in mind and with a knowing smile.

"You're the expert." She said cheerfully. "You don't think that's pure gold, do you?" Botan pointed at the dainty figure inside the glass.

The ease on Botan's voice and her typical pleasant and friendly way of speaking was too engaging for Kurama to ignore so he momentarily snapped from his musing and answered her.

"Did I sound that doubtful?"

Botan laughed. "Yes. You made a temple keeper leave because you intimidated him and you made him unsure of the very thing he's supposed to know so much about. So, this right here is not gold, right?"

Kurama shook his head. "It is gold but the lotus is the only part of it that actually has value, the rest is merely gold plated."

"Hmmm., Shouldn't they have these things checked before displaying them? In any case, maybe you should be my tour guide!" Botan jokingly said. "You're obviously more knowledgeable than him and you're a complete gentleman!"

Kurama smiled. "I would love to, but-"

"Oh, you know I'm kidding." Botan interjected and she did not see the slighted look that momentarily crossed Kurama's face. "Mission before leisure." She added.

Kurama silently agreed and he glanced at Yusuke who was currently standing beside Kuwabara and nodding at him to come over. Behind the two, Kurama saw a door that was slightly ajar. He walked towards them without saying another word to Botan. However, he couldn't help but turn back to smile at her when she said,

"Be careful, Kurama."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

You guys are awesome! It did take a while before I could wipe the smile off of my face after reading your reviews and after seeing how many visitors this story has been getting. Thanks again for taking the time to read this story. I know I have my lapses and I thank you all for bearing with me through all those. (^.^)

And I apologize if I'm not updating as fast as before. Real life is knock-knock-knockin at my door and I can't ignore it. Anyhuuuu, I would never, ever, ever, ever, abandon this story and I'll try to update it every week.

Thanks to **Thornspike**, **Animoon** and once again, to **Danielle Winters** for your reviews.

Thank you for adding Finding to your Favorite Stories list and/or Story Alert list:  
><strong>Animoon<strong>  
><strong>Marionette Mirror<strong>  
><strong>Machlassie<strong>  
><strong>galacticsiren22<strong>  
><strong>majo18<strong>  
><strong>Danielle Winters<strong>


	11. Chapter 11 Searching for Leads Part 1

Chapter XI

**Searching for Leads - Part 1**

The ambiance of the temple's second chamber had gone eerie when the majority of tourists moved to the next room. Without the chattering of the crowd, everything appeared more mysterious, aged, and gloomy, and the towering bronze divinity at the end of the room looked upon its remaining visitors with shadowy hollowed eyes.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama vanished behind a door at the side of the temple and although there were six other tourists who have remained in the second chamber aside from Keiko, Yukina, Botan and Shizuru, none of those other six noticed the disappearance of the three young men.

As soon as they were gone, Botan approached her female companions who were standing at the feet of the giant divinity and as she walked towards them, she unconsciously reached for her side where Kurama's hand had been. She blushed when she realized what she was doing and she immediately straightened her arm. However, before she could start asking herself why she reacted in such a way, she got distracted by Shizuru who had nonchalantly and indiscreetly lit a stick of cigarette inside the temple.

"Shizuru, what are you doing?" Botan marched towards the tall female.

"Well isn't it obvious?"

"We're in a temple!"

"What difference does it make? People light incense in here all the time." She reasoned but snuffed the cigarette she was holding nonetheless. "This is getting boring. Botan's the only one who seems to be having fun." Shizuru teased meaningfully.

Botan's eyebrows furrowed, completely oblivious to what Shizuru meant so she stared at her and at Keiko and Yukina who were both giving her curious looks. An idea eventually came into her mind as to what Shizuru was implying and she colored at the thought of Shizuru possibly misinterpreting the gallant scene which involved her and Kurama. Botan flustered and she attempted to speak but all she managed to do was stammer incoherently.

"So, where's that hot tour guide you were with?" Shizuru then asked.

"Yes, that good looking guy you were talking to earlier?" Keiko added.

"Who now?" Botan confusingly asked. It was so fixed in her mind that Kuwabara's sister was referring to Kurama that it took her a while to figure out that she was talking about Rokuro.

"Oh yes! That tour guide." Botan exclaimed after a while. She was so embarrassed on how her thoughts were just so jumbled up and she could not figure out why her emotions were so chaotic that she remained blushing as she said, "The tour guide, he… Well I thought he was such a nice guy and all but it turns out he was a complete pervert."

"Oh my…" Yukina whispered.

"That's a shame, and here I was thinking you looked great together." Keiko shook her head in disappointment.

"So what, he touched you or something?" Shizuru asked, observing the constant blushing on Botan's face.

"What! Of course he didn't. If he had I would've broken his arm!" Botan fumed and the sudden outburst seemed to have cleared her mind a bit. The thought that no one saw what Kurama had done for her also gave her some relief although she does not know why.

"Well it's great that you were able to get away from him. So what do we do now?" Shizuru inquired. "And where exactly did our boys go anyway?"

* * *

><p>The door at the side of the temple led to a small balcony that was connected to a rusty staircase, very much like the type that one would often find in fire escapes of old buildings. It goes up to the top of the great tombstone and from the height where Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama were, even the slightest gush of wind made the stairs shake and rattle.<p>

"Now it's obvious why no one's supposed to be here." Yusuke lightly pushed the staircase railings and it made an awful creaking sound.

"This signboard makes a lot of sense then. I thought it's supposed to mean that this is a secret door to something." Kuwabara held up a white cardboard infront of him which read: DANGER: THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. TEMPLE ATTENDANTS ONLY.

Kurama smiled wryly. "Maybe you should place that back where you got it."

"Yup. Doing that now." Kuwabara wheeled around and slipped the sign board back at the other side of the door.

"You feel that right?" Yusuke said in a serious tone and Kurama and Kuwabara nodded in agreement. From where they were standing, they can sense the same disconcerting feeling that welcomed them in Houjin yesterday. The feeling was present but not overwhelming, it was definitely not welcoming but it was not too hostile either, and it was then that they were able to fully appreciate the spiritual strength and significance of the Utagawa temple for it was able to block the aura that was being radiated by the great tombstone.

"Let's go." Kurama ushered and he vanished in a blur of red and white, landing near a tombstone a few feet above them and then vanishing again. Yusuke and Kuwabara followed.

Upon reaching the top of the great tombstone which was noticeably flat and barren, they were provided with a three hundred and sixty degree view of Houjin's horizon.

"Hey Kurama, about that dagger-" Yusuke began to say.

"Shh…" Kurama hastily interrupted, putting a finger over his lips. "It's not safe to talk about that here."

"Fine, later then."

"Whoa guys! Look at that!"Kuwabara suddenly bellowed and the other two ran towards him. They gazed at the direction Kuwabara was pointing at and their eyes fell on a lady that was stooping down near one of the grave markers at the bottom of the great tombstone.

"A ghost?" Kurama said. The lady was wearing work clothes that looked like it would belong to a museum as well and he knew she had to be someone that existed centuries ago.

"Oh man, I've never been this creeped out since-" Kuwabara braced himself, rubbing down the goose bumps that were pricking his arms.

"Calm down, Kuwabara." Yusuke said.

"No! You don't understand, there were a bunch of them down there a while ago, like twenty or more, all walking around, faceless!"

And as if on cue, the lady in old work clothes looked up at them. However they were unsure if she was looking straight at them or not, because as Kuwabara said, the ghosts he saw were faceless and so was the one that was now gazing up at their direction. The ghost then walked towards another grave marker and she started removing the dusts and grass around it. After that, she knelt down to pray.

"She looks harmless enough. Let's go talk to her." Yusuke said and without difficulty, he jumped down from the top of the great tombstone and maneuvered himself around the old graves as he went down the steep and jagged hillside to reach the ghost.

"Urameshi! Can't you see she's praying?" Kuwabara yelled but he and Kurama had no choice but to follow Yusuke down the hill. Not wanting to accidentally uproot or break any gravestones, Kuwabara stumbled to get to Yusuke and the ghost, while Kurama was light on his feet and was graceful.

Rocks rolled downhill when Yusuke halted to a stop beside the female specter. "Hey, uhmm, pardon me miss…" He said cautiously, however the lady did not answer. "Excuse me… hey, can you hear me?" He repeated, a little louder this time but the ghost continued to ignore him. "You know, this may be strange but we CAN see you so you don't have to pretend like we can't and ignore us. We just want to ask you some questions." He said irritably but got the same result.

Kurama came up behind Yusuke. "I don't think she's a ghost at all."

"What? I think I would know what a ghost would look like since I've been one!" Yusuke said.

"So you were faceless too during those times?" Kuwabara asked. "I don't think you were."

Before Yusuke could respond, the ghost stood up and they all backed away a bit. The lady then started walking towards the forest behind the great tombstone and to test an assumption that was forming in his mind, Kurama purposely stood infront of the ghost to block her way. The ghost merely passed right through him without a hint that she noticed the obstacle that tried to deter her.

"She's a memory." Kurama concluded. He looked back at the grave marker where the lady had been kneeling moments ago and saw the name Hiroki Seki engraved on it; based on how old the grave marker appeared, one could say that it had been placed there seven hundred years ago, or maybe even more. If the ghost of the lady was related to the person buried there, then she might be able to help them better understand the events that transpired seven hundred years ago, even if she may just be a memory.

"What do you mean she's a memory?" Kuwabara asked. "She looks and feels ghostly to me."

"I don't want to claim to be a specialist when it comes to this certain subject, but what I know is that there are times when an emotion so strong enables a being to leave imprints of themselves in the living world after they have died and even after their souls have been taken to the Spirit World. I think, she's a memory because we cannot interact with her. If she was a ghost then we could've gotten her attention one way or another."

"Or she's just determined to ignore us completely." Yusuke grumbled.

"If she does not wish to speak to us then she would have fled as soon as she saw you but she didn't, and aside from that…" Kurama pointed at the ghostly memory who was now leisurely picking up something from the rocky ground.

"Is it just me or does she look like she's picking flowers?" Kuwabara asked.

"It appears she's reenacting the things she usually did when she was alive." Kurama said in a tone which clearly indicated that he was figuring things out as he sees them.

Yusuke sighed. "You know who would be an expert when it comes to ghosts and ghost like things? Botan, that's who!"

"Yes. I agree, but we must let her be at the moment. She IS on vacation." Kurama said and he had to resist the need to go over his previous musings over the blue haired deity and his perplexing sentiments towards her. He had to focus on the case first. His personal wants could wait.

"Oh, she's heading inside the forest now. Should we follow her?" Kuwabara asked.

"It wouldn't hurt to try." Kurama said.

"Yeah, let's just hope we're not wasting our time." Yusuke said and they started tailing the faceless memory.

After a few minutes of walking behind the ghostly memory through a dense forest, Yusuke cleared his throat, meaning to start sharing the information that he had gathered regarding the dagger and when he began speaking, Kurama no longer interrupted him.

"…according to this temple guy I spoke with, the dagger was made by a famous blacksmith during the Ashikada era-"

"Ashikaga." Kurama corrected.

"Yeah, and the handle and the scabbard were made from the bone of a wild animal that caused a lot of trouble in this town hundreds of years ago. Local myth says it was a huge tiger—." Yusuke looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, while he was telling me that story, I couldn't help but be reminded of Byakko, you remember him do you?" Yusuke turned to Kuwabara who gasped at the sudden recollection of something.

"Did you say tiger? Nue is a tiger! Well, he's looked like he was a mix of other animals but he does look like a tiger!"

"How do you know that?" Yusuke arched an eyebrow but he was secretly impressed.

"I was reading the Houjin documents last night and it had a painting of Nue."

Yusuke smiled. "Looks like we're getting somewhere now. The temple guy also told me that the animal's remains were burned and the blacksmith had a hard time finding a usable part from the remains. So that means, the dagger back there is one of a kind."

"We need to take it tonight." Kurama's tone was so decisive that Kuwabara could not help but gape at him apprehensively.

"Look, no doubt you could easily take the dagger but how're you- I mean, once the dagger is gone, Yusuke can become a prime suspect or something, you too. No one else was staring maniacally at the dagger earlier."

Yusuke laughed. "Yeah…" He said drawlingly. "About that, I think I've got it covered. I might have looked like a total nerd with all the questions I was asking the temple guide that he gladly and proudly informed me they're selling replicas of all the artifacts displayed in the temple and they can be bought at the temple's souvenir shop. It's a simple three step plan; we steal the real dagger, replace it with the replica and we'll sleep soundly afterwards."

"I'd do it alone, if you don't mind." Kurama firmly said.

No one responded to Kurama's declaration.

If Yusuke and Kuwabara took offense by the fact that Kurama did not want them to accompany him during the heist, they decided to remain quiet about it. To question the legendary thief of the Demon World was not really the wisest thing to do, and they were well aware that stealth and patience were two qualities that neither one of them possessed.

Kurama already had an idea on what was going through the other two's minds though, and he greatly appreciated that they did not openly question his intentions. He does not mean to hurt anyone's feelings but everyone had their expertise and his was to take valuable objects without the owner's permission. Aside from that, the task of stealing the dagger might just be the thing he needed to satisfy his restless, erratic other persona. "What else have you found out about Nue, Kuwabara?" He decided to ask as they took a turn at a huge tree to continue following the memory.

Kuwabara was more than willing to share what he knew. "I already told you that Nue looks like a tiger, right? Well get this, you know that Tamamo lady that obaasan was telling us yesterday? There were a lot of accounts in the Houjin documents that says she's a total witch."

Yusuke frowned. "Witch? What do you mean?"

"Well, I was going to say the other word that sounds like 'witch' but you know, I'm not really the type of guy who would call a girl _that_."

"Okay, and then what? Didn't the old lady say she was some kind of a pretty humanitarian?"

"That's not what everyone is saying in the book. So basically, the Houjin document is a compilation of reports made by the residents of this town and according to what I've read, Tamamo Utagawa was the one controlling Nue."

"What?"

"At first it was the old guy, Tamamo's granddad, but he died so she took over the control of Nue. She was so brutal I can't believe someone so beautiful and innocent looking could do all those things that were written in the book. But the Houjin document was from the Spirit world, that means everything written there's a fact."

"So.. I'm guessing her picture's in the book too?"

"Oh yeah. Black hair, white skin, pretty face."

"Did you find any information on the Utagawa bloodline?" Kurama asked. "If they could possibly have any living descendants?"

"Tamamo was an only child. I'm not sure if she had any uncles or aunts or if her grandfather had any brothers or sisters. Tamamo was married to this one guy but her child died."

"If bloodlust ran in the family maybe it was a good thing the Utagawa legacy ended with her kid." Yusuke remarked.

The three continued discussing the details of Tamamo Utagawa's involvement with Nue and some of the other important parts of the Houjin documents, to which all Kuwabara had been surprisingly informative and detailed. They also kept a watchful eye on the faceless memory they were following lest it would suddenly disappear. While they were at this, the girls back at the temple have decided to go on with the tour and for everyone's sake, they lagged behind the rest of the touring crowd so that none of them would end up being singled out by any of the temple attendants.

The tour eventually ended and all the visiting guests were invited to either have a picnic in the garden at the right side of the great tombstone or to go to a relaxing walk in the forest behind it. Most of the guests preferred the picnic, so did Keiko, Yukina, Botan and Shizuru but before they headed down the temple, Keiko insisted that they check out the souvenir shop first.

"Yusuke was so interested in that knife in the second chamber earlier, I thought I'd see if they're selling a copy of it at the shop."

Botan smiled widely. "That's so sweet, Keiko."

"Do you think he'll like it?"

"Of course he would. It's from you so of course he would like it." She said reassuringly but then she grinned apologetically for the next words that she couldn't resist saying. "Knowing Yusuke though, it's expected that he'll say something stupid to you instead of saying thanks, but he'll like the knife, I'm sure of it."

Keiko had already decided to buy the replica of the knife as a gift so she simply laughed at Botan's oddly accurate description of Yusuke.

"Yukina and I will be waiting for you and Shizuru in the garden. Obaasan made packed lunches for us; we'll set everything up so we can start eating as soon as you come down."

"Okay. Let's go, Shizuru." Keiko said and she had to cling on Shizuru's arm to lightly haul her back inside temple.

About fifteen minutes later, the four ladies have settled themselves comfortably underneath a lush green tree and as expected from the generous proprietor of the Aramata residence, she had prepared the group a lunch so bountiful that it had to be packed in a large cooler. Almost every person seating near the four girls stared when they began unpacking their lunch but instead of being embarrassed, they found it amusing, thinking that if Kuwabara and Yusuke have joined the picnic, all that food would have been gone in a snap.

After a few sandwiches and some desserts, they started fussing over the beautifully crafted dagger that Keiko bought and the blanket like map of Houjin that Shizuru purchased.

"If the temple is here, then this is where we are right now." Shizuru pointed at the map. "The forest is right here... Anyone wanna go there? We still have a lot of time."

"Yeah sure. Then after that we can go to a spa." Keiko said excitedly.

"What's a spa?" Yukina asked.

"It's just one of the best places a girl could go to! You'll have fun for sure." Botan answered cheerfully, she then stretched her arms and legs and leaned on the tree behind her. Going to a spa was definitely a great idea but she already felt relaxed at the moment. Despite not being able to view the monks' exhibit as soon as she would have liked and despite the unpleasant encounter she had with one of the temple attendants, she was having a great day. She was finally able to step inside the Utagawa temple which was her former home and she now knew the name of her five guardian monks. They were small accomplishments but they were accomplishments nonetheless and after she gets to see the monks' exhibit, maybe she could finally leave Houjin feeling content, or maybe even complete. Botan looked back at the great tombstone and she found it a little sad that she would be leaving on Thursday with a possibility that she'll never have to go back again. Maybe she'll contact Nakatsu later, to try and ask if she could stay longer, or hope, that Koenma would be particularly idle and would not return to his duties as soon as he has recovered. Sure the great tombstone exudes a constant eeriness but knowing that what was causing it meant no harm, Botan could not help but already feel attached to the site.

"So shall we?" Shizuru said, folding her map.

"Wait, we're going now?" Botan asked, sounding like a child that was unceremoniously dragged from the playground.

"Yes. But if you want to continue lounging like a cat here, we'll meet you at-" she peeked at her map. "—the Taki spa in an hour or two. I'll even lend you my map if you want."

Everyone knew that Shizuru was kidding but the ever so indifferent look in her face made Botan think twice and she hastily stood up to help Yukina and Keiko pack their things.

They left the cooler back in the van and they informed their driver to expect them to come back in two hours then they headed to the forest behind the great tombstone.

When they reached the place, they were so surprised to find it a lot crowded than they expected and it was as though they have joined a slow and boisterous procession when they entered the forest with the other tourists. This was not supposed to be a problem if there weren't two watchful tour guides accompanying them and if there wasn't a designated path through the forest that every tourist must strictly follow; the trail was a bit narrow and everyone was stopping at one point in order to take pictures or point at something. Twice Botan had bumped into someone while she was admiring the foliage and the way the sunlight was passing through the leaves of the trees; the battery of Keiko's camera was running low because whenever they find a perfect place to pose and take pictures, they needed to wait until no one was too near to get captured along with them; Yukina was either getting left behind or was getting lost in the crowd; Finally, Shizuru who's wasn't much of a people person was walking way too fast to avoid the noisy crowd which in turn defeated the purpose of appreciating nature through a leisurely walk.

They tried to be patient but they ultimately decided that it was best to just break away from the rest of the crowd and take their own path through the forest. For a death deity and an ice apparition, Botan and Yukina effortlessly extracted themselves from the packs of tourists while Shizuru and Keiko were left to be crafty and swift.

Giggling at their ingenuity, the four met and gathered together behind a shrubbery several feet away from the pathway where everyone else was and they began walking through the forest completely unnoticed.

"We really need to get to a spa after this." Keiko said as she dabbed the sweat from her face with a handkerchief.

"I'm beat! Smokers do not run." Shizuru panted.

"I thought it was fun." Yukina said.

Botan continued to giggle, cooling herself by using her hand as a fan. "I wouldn't disagree with you on that one, Yukina. We should take a picture to remember this by." She suggested, taking Keiko's camera from her, setting the timer up and then laying it on the ground.

"Oh great.., we're getting our photos taken looking wasted." Shizuru groaned but she bent down on the camera lens with everyone else and each of them mustered a decent looking pose.

Botan picked the camera from the ground and handed it back to Keiko. "That one's a definite keeper."

* * *

><p>The sun was already beating down on the three members of the Reikai Tantei when the ghostly memory they were tailing stopped in the middle of nowhere. They all thought that she was going to turn to another direction like what she had been doing for the better part of the hour that they were following her, but to everyone's surprise and utter disappointment, the lady suddenly vanished from where she was standing.<p>

A warm breeze blew from the west and it made the tall grass around them sway and the leaves of the trees rustle. It would've been one of those serene moments that anyone would be grateful to have but the tranquil setting was immediately broken by Yusuke's cursing.

"Shit! Now what the hell was all that for?"

"Wait, maybe she'll show up again." Kuwabara tried to sound a little bit hopeful.

"No houses, no nothing! We don't even know where we are!"

Kurama tried to look around. The situation they were in was indeed frustrating but the disappearance of one lead does not mean it's the end of it all. Clues would always show themselves to those who knew where to look and he found it interesting that a memory so strong such as the one they were tailing would just vanish at a certain spot and in such a deliberate manner. He stood at the exact place where the ghost disappeared but found only grass so he continued to survey the grounds further, stopping at an area where neither grass nor the tiniest kind of plant grew, leaving an oddly shaped patch of the forest ground bare. "Yusuke, Kuwabara, look at this." He said gravely.

The two stared at the ground. "What are we looking at?" Kuwabara asked, completely clueless.

"This might sound strange but have any of you two seen a decomposing human body before and do you know how it interacts with the environment if it was not properly disposed?" Kurama casually asked.

Kuwabara was immediately taken over by nausea upon hearing Kurama's question and Yusuke gave the questioner a confused look. "What are you trying to say, Kurama?"

"We've been walking around this forest for some time now and the ground had always been covered with grass or plants. However, this part strangely isn't." He pointed at the dry soil before them. "The plants are avoiding the area because the earth has been contaminated, most likely by a putrid, rotting carcass of something considerably large, two to three years ago."

_Wow, and all I see is a… large bean shaped, bald spot. _Yusuke thought.

"So someone's buried there?" Kuwabara finally managed to say.

Kurama slipped his hand inside one of his jean pockets and pulled out an innocent looking seed from it. "We'll soon find out." He said and he dropped the seed on the ground where it immediately started growing, splitting in half, sprouting little roots and embedding itself on the ground. A few seconds later, a small dandelion-like flower finally sprung out from the seed.

"Should we move back?" Yusuke asked, knowing all too well that Kurama's arsenal rarely include harmless delicate flowers.

"Yes." Kurama said and they positioned themselves at a safe distance near a sturdy tree.

Almost as soon as they did, the ground began to shake and a large root emerged from the ground like a large spindly wooden hand and clasped underneath it was a human skeleton.

"Gaaaaa! Dead body! Dead body!" Kuwabara panicked.

"Shut up, Kuwabara!" Yusuke spat. "Disturbing as it may seem, this is a good thing."

"There are more." Kurama informed them and two more massive dried out hands sprung out from the ground grasping skeletal remains, one in particular was wearing the same clothes as the ghostly memory they were following.

Though Kuwabara was not so thrilled with the grim discovery they've unearthed, he was the first to approach the hand-like roots that were holding up the skeletons upright. With an arm over his mouth and nose, he squinted at the first skeleton that Kurama's plant dug up; it appeared to be wearing a glossy pink material and when he gazed up at its skull that was slightly covered with dirty matted strands of hair, he made a noteworthy remark:

"It doesn't have any teeth…."

* * *

><p>"I think it might be best that we rejoin the <em>real<em> tour. I didn't know this would be so exhausting." Shizuru said as she leaned on her knees.

"I'm sorry to say this, Shizuru but you look horrible. You should probably consider quitting smoking." Botan said and she received a much anticipated glare from the tall girl.

"Keiko?" Yukina turned to check on Keiko who was almost crouching down to get a photograph of yellow flower that was sticking out of the bushes. "You'll get dirt on your dress." She reminded her.

"It's okay, it'll easily wash off. Just one more picture and we'll go." She answered, quickly glancing at Shizuru and then running off to get to the end of the thicket.

"Hmm., what's with the sudden interest in photography?" Botan curiously inquired, however, Keiko did not answer and Botan watched her as she slowly removed the camera she was expertly holding away from her face, looking astounded by something she saw beyond the shrubbery.

"What is it, Keiko?" Botan asked.

"There's a house… right there." Keiko blinked to make sure she was really seeing it. "It's a really beautiful house." She said approvingly and she started walking towards it.

"There aren't supposed to be any houses here." Shizuru said and she began unfolding her map to check.

For some reason, Botan's pulse quickened and she swiftly ran towards Keiko, dropping her small sling bag in the process. "Keiko!" She yelled to call her attention but she did not stop walking nor did she turn and the dazed expression on her face was a telltale sign that something strange was going on.

Botan stopped just behind Keiko and she looked at where the latter had set her eyes on; there was no house, no sign of any type of dwelling structures beyond the thicket, just a dense flowering bush to which Keiko was walking to head on. "Keiko, stop!" She yelled again and lunged forward to pull Keiko back.

"Botan wait!" Yukina's sudden frantic cry tore through the commotion, but whattever it was that she feared and tried to warn Botan about, the death diety found it our herself.

Sharp, searing pain welcomed Botan's arms as soon as she reached out to grab Keiko. She screamed in pain but she tried to extend her arms further until she was able to take a hold of her friend. The blinding pain intensified and it felt like her flesh was being cut by countless scalding knives and she was about to let go of Keiko when someone clutched the collar of her pink shirt and forcefully pull her back. She fell on the ground with Keiko almost toppling over her.

* * *

><p>Kurama briefly stopped from his careful inspection of one of the female skeletons they've exhumed and looked around; he thought he heard something, or someone.<p>

"What is it now?" Yusuke asked apprehensively.

"It's nothing. Could just be the wind." He responded uncertainly.

"Hey guys." Kuwabara interrupted. "Once we're done with, uhm, _them-_" he nodded uncomfortably at the corpse near him. "—are we gonna bury them back here or should we, you know, give them a proper burial?"

* * *

><p>Botan didn't know whether she should fold her arms or stretch them out for neither said movement was alleviating the intense pain she was feeling. Blood was flowing from the several deep gashes on her arm and Yukina's healing ability was useless.<p>

Keiko was staring at Botan, wide-eyed. She couldn't understand what happened, all she can recall was seeing a beautiful house situated in the middle of forest, and then the feeling of being dragged backwards. After that, she saw Botan lying on the ground with horrible wounds on her hands and arms.

"Botan… I'm so sorry. I didn't hear you." She said tearfully, her voice shaking.

"There was a stone talisman under the bushes." Yukina said quietly as she continued to heal Botan's wounds. "Mostly they are made to ward off apparitions, or confine them, in some manner…" She trailed off a bit as she recalled a rather unhappy memory of herself, gazing through a window, trapped and helpless. "…the talisman allowed Keiko to see the house that it was protecting and she passed unharmed because she's a human, you are not." She explained and sighed in frustration upon seeing that there were no changes in Botan's wounds. "Botan, I really cannot-"

"We should get her to a hospital." Keiko anxiously suggested.

"No! I'm fine… I'll be fine…" Botan said weakly, eyeing the spot where she and Keiko had been earlier. For a moment there, she did see the house that Keiko saw, but now as she laid there on the ground bleeding, all her misty eyes could see was the shrub where Shizuru dragged her out. Botan looked at her arms and she wanted to wince at the sight of it. Keiko's suggestion was tempting but if Yukina's healing powers could not work on her, what can human medicine do?"I understand that I'm a mess but...this isn't really the type of injury human doctors see everyday… and I'm not really in the right condition to make up an acceptable explanation. I'll be alright, let's just go home." She smiled, wanting to remove the worried looks on everyone's faces but she was unsuccessful.

"Give me your shawl, Yukina." Shizuru gravely said, she then propped Botan up so that she can stand as she wrapped the soft cloth around her, just enough to conceal her arms. With that, they started to find their way out of the forest.

_To be continued..._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**  
>*sigh* finally, another chapter done! (I'm already working on the next one so I could post it as soon as I can-hope I don't run into some wall though, hee-hee...)<p>

Thanks for the awesome reviews **Animoon**, **yu-yu4ever**, **galacticsiren22**, **Danielle Winters**, and **BadxGood**.

I'm sorry if I'm not that expressive when giving my thanks, you guys deserve all the effort I could muster to thank you back for the time you've given this story but all I could do is smile and giggle like an obsessed-anime chibi-weirdo whenever I see a new notification in my email that says a review has been sent for Finding or that the story has been added to someone's fave story, fave author, story alert, author alert lists so to **BadxGood**, **sukitzi**, **Kinishra22** , **majo18**, **minaghostwolf**, **Stelina Miko Kitsune** and **yu-yu4ever**...

Thank you! (T_T)

And to all those who've been **visiting** this story from day one, I know it's going to be freakin weird and some of you may never come back and read this story again but... **imaginary hugs for all you guys!**


	12. Chapter 12 Searching for Leads Part 2

Chapter XII

**Searching for Leads – Part 2**

Botan didn't know how her friends managed to do it but after drifting in and out of consciousness while trekking out of the woods, she found herself sitting at the back of the van between Yukina and Keiko, and from the car seat in the middle, Shizuru was glancing back at her from time to time to rouse her from sleep.

"Yukina," Shizuru called, briefly taking the ice apparition's attention from her continued attempts to heal Botan's wounds. "I know this is going to be a bit weird but the situation calls for it and I just need to ask. My brother once mentioned to me that he was able to speak to you telepathically. Is there any chance that you can try and communicate with Kazuma to let them know what's going on? Kurama might be able to help Botan."

Yukina was slightly taken aback by the request but she nodded anyways. She was more than willing to try and do what Shizuru was suggesting for Botan.

"There's no need for that." Botan hastily said, placing a hand over Yukina's. "These wounds might look really bad right now but they will heal—" She paused to wince, then she continued, "-Yusuke and the others, they have an important case they need to work on… We can't let this little accident distract them. I'm going to be alright."

"What are you saying?" Keiko exclaimed mournfully.

Botan gave her a reassuring smile. "You guys are enough to take care of me." She said encouragingly.

Shizuru sighed. She was getting annoyed but she wasn't the type who would reprimand a terribly injured friend, who, in her opinion was trying really hard to stay alive at the moment. She reminded herself that Botan was a grim reaper and so she may be perceiving her situation a little less serious than the rest of them. For all they know, it might not be a big deal at all if she does die—but Shizuru doesn't really know how things work in the Spirit World so getting comfortable with the idea that a dead grim reaper was nothing serious, was bad. What she's trying to understand now was Botan's obstinate resolve to continue suffering when help was readily available. She granted that Botan was being selfless, placing herself second to a Reikai mission, but she's acting like an idiot too; a trait she often noticed about the blue haired girl.

Another uneasy sigh escaped her. The situation they were in reeked with the unsettling kind of vibe that was not easy to bear. She pursed her lips as she worriedly searched for any improvement on Botan's wounds that would convince her that they can indeed handle her injuries. The gashes on her arms were still bleeding but not as badly as before, however, that did not particularly made her breathe easy.

The severity of Botan's wounds-the way each deep, dark red slash overlapped one another, made it difficult for Shizuru to tear her eyes away from the deity's arm, however, an odd feeling managed to get her attention from the front of the van and when she turned towards it, she caught the driver's eyes which were warily watching them from the rear view mirror.

"Keep your eyes on the road." She said with a snap.

* * *

><p>Since vehicles aren't allowed inside the residential area, the trip back to the Aramata residence had not been easy. Though Botan could walk, every step she took was grueling and she felt weaker and weaker as they neared the house. When they did reach the house, they had to go through the small entrance in the garden to avoid being seen by Obaasan and the maids. Everyone was so relieved when they finally got Botan in her room.<p>

"Do you need anything else Yukina?" Keiko hurriedly closed the door behind her, concealing Botan's state from anyone who might pass the hallway.

Yukina opened the first aid kit Keiko brought in and found the bandages she needed. "I'm all set." She answered then she sat at the edge of Botan's bed and began wrapping her left arm.

The pain was still unbearable but Botan bit back her tears. _I'm going to be fine… I'm going to be fine… It doesn't hurt, I'm not feeling anything… _But she was feeling it, more so whenever Yukina moved her arms. Her wounds were still bleeding and she was already feeling a little lightheaded.

"Botan, I am so sorry." Keiko said guiltily as she moved closer to the blue haired girl.

"Oh Keiko, don't blame yourself. No one knew that this would happen." Botan said.

Yukina gently laid Botan's left arm on her side. "Actually, I kindda did…" She said. "I saw the talisman but I was too late to stop you."

Botan watched their faces fell and she tried to lighten up the mood a bit, for Yukina and Keiko's sake, and for her sake as well. "But even if you've warned me on time, you know how prone I am to getting myself into trouble. I would've ignored you and besides, you can't expect me to leave Keiko alone, Yusuke will kill me."

For some reason, Botan's endeavor to make fun of her grave situation only made Keiko feel more guilt-ridden. However, the sound of a door sliding open and thudding shut followed by male voices finally lit up the somber expressions that Keiko and Yukina were wearing.

"They're here! Yusuke's here!" Keiko said and she swiftly ran out of Botan's room, her footsteps falling heavy on the wooden floor.

She headed to the entry way where she saw that Shizuru was already talking to the boys.

"Finally, you guys are here!" Shizuru snapped irritably but there was a certain touch of anxiety in her tone that prevented her younger brother from retorting back.

"What happened?" Kuwabara dared ask.

"It's Botan." Keiko answered as she came up behind Shizuru. "It's all my fault… I…" Her voice started to sound shaky again.

"It's no one's fault! It's that stupid talisman that no one saw." Shizuru said.

"What happened?" The question was asked again but this time it was Kurama who uttered it and his voice was ominously deep.

"We went to the forest behind the great tombstone-" Shizuru began to explain.

"What?" Yusuke interrupted. They've been there and based on what they found, it was no place to go sightseeing.

"—It was a part of the tour." Shizuru continued but someone's patience was at its limit and he left Shizuru to continue with her story. Kurama silently passed Keiko who turned and worriedly watched him head to Botan's room.

* * *

><p><em>What is taking them so long?<em> Yukina anxiously thought as she glanced at Botan who was writhing in pain again. No matter how many times she tried to do it, her healing powers had no effect on Botan's wounds. She had given her a tablet of pain medication from the first aid kit but it too didn't do much to help. For the most part, it was Botan herself who has been doing well with keeping the pain tolerable by laughing it off but it was not exactly the cure they're looking for.

"I'm going to get, Kurama." Yukina finally said, standing up.

She hurriedly went out of the room, closed the door and almost collided into the person they had been impatiently waiting for in the hallway.

"Kurama!" Yukina gasped. "Please help Botan, she has wounds caused by a talisman and I cannot heal them. She's not doing well, her wounds won't stop bleeding." She said fretfully.

His anxiety for Botan increasing, he simply nodded to Yukina to indicate that he understood the situation.

"Please see to her right now and if there's anything else that I can do…"

"I'll let you know." He answered curtly.

Heart beating fast, Kurama opened the door to Botan's room, hoping that he'd find her condition better than how Yukina had described it or how he imagined it to be but he found the bed in the middle of the room empty except for a pair of bloody bandages on top of the covers.

The sound of running water informed him where Botan could have gone and despite the impropriety of what he was about to do, he opened the door to the bathroom and was greeted by a gut-wrenching sight.

Botan was sitting in the tub, her feet folded close to her chest and her face was hidden behind her terribly lacerated arms that rested on her knees. The continuous flow of water from the shower head above had soaked her and a pool of blood stained water had gathered round her toes.

Kurama's throat went dry and he could barely bring himself to speak.

"Botan… What are you doing?" He said hoarsely as he turned the shower off.

The blue haired deity looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "My arms feel like they're on fire…" She reasoned. "Please turn the water on."

Kurama did not move to grant her plea. Botan had lost a lot of blood and the water was cold; these are two things that do not go well together. Without another word, he slid an arm over the deity's neck and the other under her knees and he gently lifted her from the tub. He felt her shiver against him as he laid her back on the bed where she rolled on her side groaning. Her spirit energy was quickly declining.

Yukina looked on as Kurama examined Botan's arm.

"Yukina, please get new blankets for her bed, and new bandages too." He instructed without removing his gaze from the suffering deity.

"Alright." Yukina said and she stepped out of Botan's room.

Kurama sighed heavily. Mixed feelings were overwhelming him right now; his human side, his very human side wanted nothing more but to wrap his arms around the girl before him and hope that it would be enough to take her pain away, his intellectual aspect, knew that such action would be pointless and foolish and his demon side was enraged. It's looking for someone to blame.

Once again, thrice at the course of that day, he found himself struggling to keep his emotions in check. Against his want and need, he stepped back from Botan's bed and turned away from the sight of her. He closed his eyes and steadied himself. For a brief moment he tried to block everything; the image of Botan in pain, the feeling of her cold soft skin, the smell of her blood on his shirt, he shut them all out. When his pulse eased down to a slower pace, he turned back to Botan with a less clouded mind. Kurama bent down to continue assessing Botan's condition. She was still turned on her side, eyes shut with half of her face buried in the pillow and her wet, light blue hair was screening the rest of her face.

Though every second was still causing him considerable torment, he tried to focus on knowing what would be the best way to heal Botan's arm. He was quiet familiar on damages caused by talismans and most of them leave burn injuries on their victims, explaining why Botan felt like her arms were burning although her skin appeared to have been deeply cut. Oftentimes, talismans, like any other weapon, could have a poison-like effect, causing the wounds to remain open and difficult to heal; the one that Botan encountered is very much like that and Kurama knew a certain plant that could work as an antidote.

"Everything's gonna be alright, Botan." He said softly as he swept away the deity's hair from her face and before he could stop himself, he lightly grazed Botan's cheeks with the back of his hand.

"Holy crap! What happened to her?" Yusuke said brusquely as he barged into Botan's room.

Kurama composedly straightened up. "She said her hands felt like they were burning so she tried to relieve the pain with water."

"Is she going to be alright?" Kuwabara asked, joining Yusuke who had stood at the foot of Botan's bed. "I can't believe Yukina's healing powers aren't working on her."

"Yeah, and obviously she can't heal herself." Yusuke said then he walked towards the head of Botan's bed. "Hey, you just hold tight. I'm sure Kurama will fix you up."

Botan looked up at Yusuke for a moment and she nodded silently. She then closed her eyes again to rest and hope that the severe pain she's feeling would stop for a while.

Yukina soon returned with fresh bandages and blankets, followed by Keiko and Shizuru. After giving a rowdy get well pep talk, Yusuke and Kuwabara left Botan's room. Kurama gave a brief detail on what his finding on Botan's wounds was and he too left the room to find the cure while the girls help Botan change.

When Kurama came back, he had a cup of hot tea in his hands.

"Is that going to cure her?" Keiko asked, hopefully staring at the steam that was wafting from the cup.

"Yes, it will." He answered reassuringly, glancing at Botan. Her frail state was still very apparent but compared to how she had looked when he found her in the bathroom, her condition at the moment was notably better.

Feeling slightly more alert, Botan tried to sit up but quickly fell back on her pillow when new waves of pain made her arms sluggishly weak.

"Here, let me…" Kurama said and his tone was filled with more than its usual gentleness. He handed the cup of tea to Yukina then he sat on Botan's bed. He held her firmly by the shoulders so she could sit up then she let her lean on his chest.

"I really am a complete mess, aren't I?" Botan whispered.

"Aren't we all?" Shizuru asked coolly, immediately brushing off the feeling of self pity that was arising from Botan's muttered statement.

"Thank you…" Botan said timidly, addressing everyone in the room. She knew that despite all her reassurances that she was alright, everyone felt the severity of her situation and they cared for her the best that they can. She somehow felt foolish for showing weakness at that last second.

"Here you go, Botan." Yukina said, handing the cup of tea she cooled down to Botan.

Botan readily reached for it and drank it all in one gulp, not minding its unpleasant taste.

"Well… do you feel any better?" Keiko asked when Botan handed the cup back to Yukina.

Though she did not feel that the pain on her arms lessened, Botan managed to laugh lightly. "I don't think it's supposed to take effect that quickly." She jauntily said. "But I don't doubt Kurama's skills one bit so I'll patiently wait."

* * *

><p>"She still asleep?" Yusuke asked.<p>

Yukina had just returned from Botan's room and the smile she gave Yusuke was enough to put his mind at ease. Within minutes of drinking the tea that Kurama had concocted, Botan drifted to sleep and the wounds on her arms started to visibly heal. While they allow Botan to recover, they have gathered in the living room to discuss all the grim things that had occurred and had been uncovered that day.

As though in a séance, they sat around the table where Shizuru's map was laid flat before them and they began discussing known facts regarding the accounts on the Houjin documents and the video tape Koenma sent, and how it may all be linked to everything that they have found so far.

It was the boys turn first to tell their story. They began with the dagger, the memory they followed and the three toothless female bodies they found buried in the forest.

For Yusuke, the dagger in the museum exhibit was undoubtedly Nue's fang and it was settled that Kurama will take care of it. The lack of teeth of the cadavers that Kurama's plant had pulled out from the ground told them that they were post Nue victims; women who were sacrificed after Nue's capture by Reikai soldiers, for the purpose of bringing Nue back to life. The type of clothes that the victims were wearing which were centuries of style apart led Kurama to believe that the group of people who were governing Nue's resurrection were deliberately taking the process as slowly and carefully as they can to avoid notice from the Spirit World.

"You know, after seven hundred years, someone would've already known that the dagger is Nue's fang, how come it's still in the museum?" Kuwabara wondered loudly.

Yusuke gave him an irked look. "Man, are you even listening to what we've been saying here? Only a demon would recognize that dagger. If the dagger's been sitting there for years that means our culprit's a human. A human who clearly does not know what he's doing because it's been seven hundred years and hasn't made his move."

"Hey! You don't need to sound like a know-it-all!" He barked at Yusuke then he turned to Kurama looking a bit more composed. "Since the dagger is the key to everything, once we take it that means we've won right? We stopped the resurrection?"

"Yes. That is correct, but we must not stop there. We still need to find who's behind all of this." Kurama answered and heavy sighs filled the room.

Knowing who's behind the resurrection was something they have yet to find out and that being the case, they moved on from discussing the details of the dagger and the ghastly burial site in the forest to give the floor to Keiko.

"I was taking a picture when I saw the house, it was just about a few feet away from me and it was so beautiful so I thought I'd get close… then after that, Botan ran to get me but I didn't hear her, I don't think I felt her either when she tried to pull me back…" Keiko looked down, still troubled by the thought that it was her carelessness that got Botan into trouble.

"Did you still see the house after Shizuru yanked you outta there?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes and no one seems to be seeing it but me."

"Yeah, I didn't see it either." Shizuru said.

Yukina turned to Shizuru, surprised at hearing that she was not able to see the house. "Other humans should've been able to see the house if Keiko saw it. Why didn't you see it?"

Kurama thought about that for a while and he could only think of one plausible answer. "It means the talisman that was set to protect the house was not made to block just apparitions and demons, it's made to target anyone with significantly heightened spiritual energy. Think of it like the Kekkai barrier-only this one wouldn't allow humans with psychic abilities. Where is this house exactly?" Kurama eagerly inquired.

"It was here." Shizuru tapped her finger on a particular spot on the map and Kurama's eyes narrowed. The place where Shizuru pointed was not a mile away from where they dug up the skeletons.

_So it was her that I've heard… _Kurama thought, thinking back to that time he thought someone was calling him, not by his name, but just calling. He quickly shrugged off the feeling of regret that was creeping up on him; he wasn't so surprised when he found it very difficult. _She wouldn't have suffered so much if I have not ignored… No, she's safe now… that is what's important._

A dumpsite for murdered bodies near a house who don't allow psychics in? This is getting really interesting." Yusuke said elatedly.

"Alright! Since Kurama is on dagger duty tonight, I say we gate crash that weird house!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"And how do you propose to do that? We'll end up like Botan if we, as you said it, gate crash."

Kuwabara sneered and he did not bother hiding it. "You seemed to have forgotten Urameshi, I have the Dimension Sword and if that talisman is like the Kekkai barrier, we don't need to worry about anything." He said proudly and stole a glance at the ice apparition sitting beside him.

"Fine whatever." Yusuke groaned. "So Kurama takes on the dagger and we handle the house with the electric fence. Shouldn't be too hard."

Kuwabara clenched his fist. "When the sun goes up tomorrow, that punk who's trying to resurrect Nue will have run out of luck."

"I may not look like it but I'm actually dying to know who the evil genius behind all this is." Shizuru said. "Disregarding what we managed to ran into today, this town has it going. You can't want what you already have so whoever wants this town for themselves, are greedy, insecure people who obviously are desperate to get on top."

"And they're willing to do all this just for some sort of political goal… Unbelievable…" Keiko said.

"The root of all this had always had something to do with politics and the desire to dominate." Kurama coldly said then he turned to Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Be careful once you're inside the house in the forest, it would be unwise to underestimate what we're up against and once you leave, it may be best to destroy that talisman."

Yusuke smiled. "You don't have to tell me. If you want, I can bring back a piece of the talisman as a souvenir, it might look nice as a keychain."

"Everything's all set then." Kurama said then he stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Yusuke asked.

"I'm going to go check on my patient."

* * *

><p>He stared at her sleeping form.<p>

From the left side of Botan's bed Kurama stood and gazed at the blue haired deity. She was sleeping soundly, her face relaxed and her arms no longer had any trace of the dreadful wounds she received from the talisman hours ago. Her breathing was no longer ragged and while Kurama's eyes lingered on her face, he thought he saw an extremely faint smile form at the corner of her lips.

Kurama smiled himself as he realized that it was his first time to see a person smile while sleeping-but it was not like he's in a habit of watching people sleep. He was in Botan's room not solely because he wanted to check on her, but also because he's trying to figure himself out when he's near her.

And he was near her and again she was in control.

Earlier, when Botan was in pain, he too was distressed, and now that she was alright, he was calm. He was responding to her in a way he had never responded to anyone before.

_What is it about you? _He asked himself innocently.

To his surprise, Yoko answered the question for him.

_She's a woman, and a very puzzling one at that._

_I see… Is that all?_

_It's all the reason I need to want her and what she's hiding. Do you have other things in mind?_

Kurama did not answer, instead he sensed his surroundings, checked if someone was near and when he was certain that the nearest person was out in the garden, he moved closer to Botan's bed and he leaned down until his face was merely a few inches away from hers. Flawless was the first word he thought of as he keenly discerned and considered Botan's features. He doesn't know what he's trying to accomplish with such an intimate move but before he could get even closer, he stopped. His foot just hit something hard underneath Botan's bed and a corner of it slid out.

Curiosity got the better of him and he moved away from Botan. Without making the slightest of sounds, he pulled out the thing that slid out from under the bed and his interest increased when he realized what it was-In his hand was the suitcase Botan was carrying when she arrived at the Aramata house. The one that he believed was the Spirit Detective tool kit.

He glanced back at Botan, she was still asleep.

With his eyes locked on the sleeping deity, Kurama felt for the locks on the suitcase. There was a snap that told him he had unlocked it and he paused, feeling his pulse race; the kind of race he'd get when he knew he's about to uncover something that no one else had the aptitude to discover, the kind of race and excitement he'd get when he's about to steal something of high value.

Once he opens the suitcase, it's going to prove that Botan's story of her purpose in coming to Houjin had been built on lies and it would lead to a number of other inquiries; lying asleep before him was a charming gold mine of intriguing puzzles and he's eager to start on the first one, pick up the pieces to see the image he knew it would form.

Paying no attention to the small part of him that was telling him that what he was about to do was wrong, he lifted the suitcase open but just as he did, Botan moved, her right hand reaching for her head and her eyes were fluttering open.

Kurama snapped the suitcase close and he quickly slid it under the bed, then he watched as Botan drifted back to sleep.

He mentally sighed as he slowly stood up. He then pulled a chair and sat across the room, far away from Botan's bed.

He crossed his legs and he rested his chin on his clasped hands. _What am I doing? _He asked himself incredulously. For a good amount of time, the question seemed to solely pertain to his insatiable and almost absurd need to prove Botan was hiding something-he mulled over this and to his dissatisfaction, he could not come up with a rational answer. However, the worse was that after a while, the same question demanded to address a more previous deed he had almost done that only now he was realizing what it could have been; he was trying to kiss Botan.

_You want her… _Yoko proposed.

_I'm sure I do not, at least not on your context. I do care for her and I'm merely confusing one emotion with another… _Kurama defended.

_Is my wanting her confusing you? Remember, you are me and I, you. Our feelings will be the same to some extent and I have already stated earlier that I want her._

_Then tell me exactly what you meant by you wanting her? _Kurama addressed Yoko in a grave tone but he did not receive any response.

His gaze landed again on the sleeping deity and he couldn't seem to shift his attention to anything else. However, his thoughts have wandered back on the white suitcase under Botan's bed.

_Is that what you're after? _Kurama asked Yoko but once again, he was met by silence.

Kurama stood up and paced silently around the room. The prospect of him being overwhelmed by unfamiliar emotions was frightful. Questions were now piling down on him and if he does not take the time to answer them, he'll drown and lose himself- and the cause of it all was the blue haired girl who was peacefully sleeping in the room, unaware of the turmoil she was making him go through.

_It's that thing that she's hiding_… _It all started there and once I find it out, all of this will stop. _Kurama figured and he eyed the bottom of Botan's bed. He stopped pacing and he considered his next move.

He approached Botan again, determined to put a stop to whatever it was that was enticing him to the girl for the past two days. He stooped down, placing a hand on top of the bed so that he could feel if Botan would move while he set his eyes down on the floor and reach under the bed for the suitcase. He easily got a hold of the case's handle and was about to pull it out when soft, warm fingers brushed against his hand. His eyes widened in alarm but his expression quickly softened when he saw that Botan had merely turned to her side and she was facing him, eyes still closed, her hand on top of his.

The sensation she was unknowingly sending him was disarming and Kurama slowly let go of the suitcase so that he could place his other hand over Botan's, covering it completely.

Fully aware that he had just set aside what he was endeavoring to do, he lingered at Botan's side, their faces leveled. Kurama edged closer so that he could rest his head and arms properly on the silky bed sheets and for some strange reason, he felt content. The feeling was equally confusing and disconcerting as the ones that came before them. However, as his hands remained on Botan's, the uncertainty and apprehension he was feeling regarding his inability to comprehend his emotions gradually ebbed away. The questions were all still there, that was certain, but for now, like the suitcase, he'll set those aside.

_I have all the time I need to uncover whatever it is you're hiding, Botan…_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Finally! Another Chapter done., *gasp* I'm sorry this one took a while and I'm sorry if this chapter isn't even worth the wait (-_-). You guys decide of course... I promise I'll do better on the next one though.

**Donna Rossa**! You're back! great to hear from you again! (^_^) Thanks for the new review and for reading this on your mobile- Totally understand the difficulty u had and I'm immensely grateful for the effort. (T_T)

Thanks for the reviews **darkshadowarchfiend**, **majo18**, and **Kinishra22**

**4UISUNI2**, thank for the fav!

Thank you for placing this story on your alert list **darkshadowarchfiend**, **Shawny Wong**, and** Kurama M. Kitsune**!

Alright, on to writing Chapter 13!


	13. Chapter 13 Her Turn

Chapter XIII

**Her Turn**

"Where's Botan?" Koenma asked as he heaved himself up from one of the luxurious sofas inside his room to greet Nakatsu. The prince's English regency style room was filled with lavish furniture and its grand design was in complete contrast with its inhabitant and its visitor; Koenma was in his teenage form and instead of his usual red and blue robes, he wore a cream colored, long sleeved shirt and a pair of matching pants, the entire outfit closely resembling a laid back yet stylish sleeping wear. Nakatsu on the other hand, was elegant in her usual black kimono.

Nakatsu bowed to give her respect. The reason why she was meeting with Koenma was to update him regarding the Nue case that he assigned to Urameshi and his team. She had already anticipated him to inquire about Botan but she had not expected that '_Where's Botan'?_would be the first greeting she'd receive from the prince. When she was asked to take over Koenma's post, she did not have the opportunity to formally meet with him until now. It had almost been half a millennia since she had last spoken to King Enma's son but they were well acquainted; a little light chitchat before proceeding with an up-front interrogation would've been nice. "It's nice to see you looking quite well, Lord Koenma. How long has it been? Four hundred… five hundred years?" She chided, giving the prince a shrewd smile.

Koenma understood the smile and he looked awkward for a moment. "Forgive me, Mistress Nakatsu. Yes, I am doing quite well, despite my-" He put a hand over his stomach. "And you? How are you doing as the new captain of the Spirit Defense Force?" He inquired genially.

"I never could get use to that title."

"Well, you surpassed the previous captain both in power and leadership… I believe I should have addressed you as Captain Nakatsu then, instead of Mistress."

"I was appointed by your father, I didn't really have a choice in the matter. He may have thought he was bestowing a place of privilege upon me but really, it was just a seat that needs filling in."

"The Makai tournament will take place again soon. We won't know what would happen then. We'll need the best we got. "

"Oh you flatter me."

"So, how's Yusuke progressing with the Nue case? And where is Botan?" Koenma asked, putting emphasis on the last two syllables he uttered.

Nakatsu held back from arching her eyebrow. _I knew it wasn't going to be easy to distract you_, _Lord Koenma… but it's just too early to bring out my trump card…_She thought slyly. It was her implied role to buy Botan all the time she needed while she stayed in Houjin and she had not received any communication from her yet. Nakatsu knew perfectly well what Koenma's true concern was and she also knew that he wanted to ask not just where Botan was, but he also wanted to know how far the damage he had inadvertently done had gone; it was, afterall, due to his little mistake that Botan was now aware of the Houjin documents and of a demon called Nue.

There was tension in the room, she could feel it and she knew Koenma was aware of it too, it was only a matter of time before one of them would step forward and acknowledge it but Nakatsu had no intentions in playing such a serious game; her purpose was to avoid suspicion and delay being found out by Koenma, make it appear as though the Houjin and Botan issue does not exist, not head-in to conflict and confirm that it does.

As the Spirit Defense Force captain, she had a knack for creating diversions and deflecting enemy advances in battle; diverting Koenma's attention or simply avoiding his inquires on Botan's whereabouts will be pretty much the same thing. If all else fails, she could lie.

"The Reikai Tantei, with the exception of Hiei, arrived in Houjin yesterday and they're already doing a thorough investigation on the case, just to fill in the gray areas. They're making use of the copy of the Houjin documents and the video tape we provided." Nakatsu began with the factually important topic. The Nue case was a high profile Reikai case and if other things were not considered, it should have enough gravity to completely reel Koenma in.

"I see…" He said mindlessly. "But where is Botan?" Koenma asked again and his tone was casual, with the slightest hint of persistence to be satisfied with an answer.

Nakatsu could have shaken her head in dismay. _You don't even want to hear anything about the Nue case, do you? I guess I have no choice then… trump card it is…_Nakatsu tilted her head to one side and she gave the prince an inquisitive look. "My.. my… have I missed something these past hundred years? If I hear you ask about Botan again, I might not help myself from asking something indelicate." She said teasingly and there was a sudden change of mood inside the room that it left Koenma at a loss to what Nakatsu was saying.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about. You and Botan, are you two..?"

Koenma reddened, whether due to embarrassment or shock, only he would know. His princely and imposing aura came crashing down before Nakatsu. "Do not even imply such a thing! You know that Botan is—I'd never-" He groaned. "What else have you got on the Nue case?"

_Finally. Eye on the ball, Lord Koenma…_Nakatsu suppressed a triumphant smile and she continued with her report, this time, a file appeared in her hands and she flipped through it for the information she needed. "According to this report, they've found an artifact inside the Utagawa temple that they believe is crucial for the completion of the unauthorized resurrection. It's a dagger which they positively identified as Nue's fang and they are going to take it tonight."

An impressed look surfaced from Koenma's flustered expression. "Who's our correspondent for the case?"

"This was signed by a tenured Styx pilot by the name of Ichiya. She'll be sending in another report tonight. Shall I pass it on to you as soon as I receive it, or would you rather have it by tomorrow morning?"

Koenma sighed and he reached for his abdomen again. To be honest, he was still feeling under the weather and he's quite thankful that he was not making an incontinent fool of himself infront of the respectable Mistress Nakatsu at that very moment. He wouldn't say no to an extended leave of absence, but an important matter, something he would have liked to work on personally was at hand; the Nue case and preventing Botan from getting involved with it. His stomach grumbled again and he cast a glance at the female captain infront of him. He tried to read her face but she had one of those regal faces that do not yield an expression unless the wearer allowed it to.

_Can I trust you? You haven't answered my question about Botan yet. You, who look at her as though she was your own child… I know you'll give in when she asks, but for her best interest, I hope you'll abide by the agreement you made with my father. _Koenma continued giving the ex-grim reaper a searching look. "Do I have to worry about anything?"

Nakatsu read into Koenma's words. When he asked if he had to worry about anything, what she heard was if he had to worry about Botan. "No. Everything is being taken care of." She answered resolutely.

Silence.

"Botan is not in any danger, I assure you of that…" Nakatsu kindly added. She admired Koenma's resolve and his sincere concern towards Botan but if diversions, deflections and straightforwardly rattling him would not work, then she would have no choice but to make up something that would make him leave the subject of her previous apprentice entirely. "…I'm having her look into reports of earth-bound spirits in the human world, the cases are piling up."

Koenma nodded thoughtfully. "That might be enough work to amuse her until the Nue case is resolved. Has she asked you about it? About the Nue case, or the Houjin documents?"

Nakatsu gazed directly into Koenma's eyes. "Is there any reason why she should ask? She knows nothing."

* * *

><p>Botan squinted at the blurry image before her eyes then she stretched her arms, burying herself in the softness of her bed. She was just waking up from what may be the deepest, most refreshing sleep she have ever had. She can clearly recall what she had gone through before she dozed off but it's as if it was merely a distant dream because it felt like she had been sleeping for days.<p>

She was still savoring that moment between being sound asleep and waking up when she froze from her stretching and her drowsy eyes grew wide. If she had such a long sleep, why was her room bright with what seemed like light from the afternoon sun? Shouldn't it be dark? And how come the clock on the wall says it's only four?

"What day is it?" She jolted upright, her light blue locks came flying on her face and tumbling down her shoulders. There was an audible gasp somewhere inside the room and Botan's eyes landed on the person who made the sound as she tried digging her way out of the blankets.

"Kurama..?" She uttered confusingly and she stopped clawing her way out of the sheets. Kurama appeared to have been sitting on a chair that he had set against the doorway to the garden and he had a worried look in his face that Botan could not understand. There was also a book in his hand that he was now slowly placing down on the table beside him.

"What are you doing here?" Botan asked and she glanced at the clock again. "What day is it? Don't tell me I just woke up from a coma?" She said in a genuinely worried tone. Her time in Houjin was extremely limited and for her, it really felt like she had been sleeping, hibernating for days. She discreetly checked herself-her clothes, the wounds she had on her arms; her mind fearing the possibility of Koenma penalizing her for going to Houjin without him knowing and Nakatsu getting all the blame because she failed to check the date.

Kurama softly laughed. "No, you've only been asleep for two hours."

"What? Are you sure? It felt like ages!" Botan gazed at her arms. "I'm alright, they really are healed." She said in whispered awe. She extended her arms infront of her and sighed in relief. She then glanced at the light coming in from the sliding doors behind Kurama as she tried to compose and convince herself that only two hours had passed, not days.

"You really are amazing, Kurama!" She beamed at the red head but slowly, she hung her head and began fidgeting with the blankets, looking embarrassed, and almost rueful. "I must've really scared everyone, huh? I ruined our plan to go to a spa, Yukina was so looking forward to it too. And what of Keiko by the way? Is she alright?"

"Everyone is fine." He answered, more tersely than he intended to. Botan's altruism was definitely something to admire but at the moment, he wanted to remind her that she was the victim, that it's not necessary to feel sorry for everyone else.

"Hmmm… I should probably make it up to them…" Botan wondered loudly as she tapped a forefinger on her chin. "What do you think?" She turned to Kurama with a wide eyed, eager sort of expression which quickly fell when she saw that Kurama was staring at the upturned book that he had placed on the desk to his left, looking gravely thoughtful.

"Is anything wrong?" Botan asked cautiously. The expression on Kurama's face was very similar to that she had seen him wearing last night when she saw him alone in the garden.

"No, nothing is wrong." He faced her and smiled. "You were saying something about.., making it up to them?"

"Yes!" She clapped her hands excitedly. "I wonder how though? Maybe I can cook something for them?"

"You can cook?"

Botan placed her hands on her hips and pouted at Kurama. "You don't have to sound so unconvinced, Kurama." She said, acting as though she was really hurt. She quickly erased this feigned expression though when she realized something.

_Maybe that's why he looked upset. Stupid me!_She reproached herself. "I can't believe it, I forgot about you!"

Kurama stared at her.

"I was thinking of the girls all this time when it's you I owe big time! I'm sorry… I can really be stupid sometimes. " She smiled awkwardly. "So? What would you like me to make for you? I can really cook you know, you can ask for anything you like—if it's something that I don't know, I'd do my research on it and I'll make it for you tomorrow, I promise."

Kurama opened his mouth to respond but he couldn't bring himself to utter something that would be fitting to Botan's offer. "Uhm, I.. I don't know what to say." He ended up saying what he honestly thought. Seeing Botan wake up and a thank you was enough for him but he can't deny the increasing sense of happiness in his chest, with the way that Botan was showing how she sincerely appreciated what he had done for her.

"Come on now. You can tell me." She said, smiling.

"I might need to think about it…" He decided to say.

Botan slowly hunched her shoulders. Kurama sounded like he was not interested on her proposed arrangement at all, and it was absolutely strange but she felt somewhat rejected. "Oh, okay." She said flatly then she fell silent as she mindlessly gathered the sheets around her.

Kurama noticed the change in her mien. Her glow vanished and she had slightly turned her face away from him. "Anything you'd make for them would be fine for me." He said kindly.

Botan turned to Kurama and she held his gaze. "No, that won't do." She said determinedly. "Yours would have to be special."

Kurama smiled warmly at her then in a slightly teasing tone he said, "I don't know… what I'll ask you to cook might present as a real challenge. Are you still up to it?"

Botan grinned and she gestured a spirit gun at him. "Bring it on."

Kurama softly laughed then he stared at her arms. "It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?"

Botan shook her head. "Whatever you made me drink really worked well. It still feels just a little bit numb though."

"You need to drink another cup again tomorrow."

"Anything you say, Kurama…" She said, beaming at the red head again. "By the way, can you tell me what plants you've used for that? You know, just in case I'd encounter something like it again—well I hope I don't run into that kind of talisman again- but you'd never know... And it would be a terrific addition to my little journal of remedies."

Kurama felt like he was beholding a well cut diamond, continuously sparkling as it turned, never ceasing to captivate; Botan was like that, exactly like that. It was as though he was meeting her for the first time and she's apparently more than what she seemed.

"I knew you're quite the healer but I didn't know you're keeping a medical journal." Kurama said in an admiring manner.

"It's something that I picked up from my mentor. What I lack in ability I make up for with research and just by simply writing important things down."

"Your mentor? Do you mean Koenma?"

Botan laughed. "No. Lord Koenma wouldn't even know what he'd take for a headache—Oops! promise me you wouldn't tell him I said that."

"I promise."

"So… aside from healing injuries with the use of my spiritual abilities, my mentor also taught me some pretty useful potions. So far… I think I'd be able to recall around ten herbal cures that I know that I can effectively use and I really would like to know how to prepare the one that you made to cure me." She explained.

"Certainly. I'd write down the steps for you and I'll give it to you later."

"Thank you."

For a brief moment the room was engulfed in silence but Kurama broke it by moving his chair close to Botan's bed.

"Botan, I need to ask you something." He said in a serious tone.

"Does it have something to do with what you found when you left the temple?" She asked guilessly.

Kurama gazed at her in surprise. "H-how did you know?"

Botan stared back at him. "Uhm… I don't know… but isn't that what you were going to ask?"

"Well yes…" _Don't tell me she can read minds too… if she does, that doesn't sit well for me._

"Okay then, what did you find?" She asked with increasing curiousity.

Kurama collected himself. "We followed a ghost—or what a specialist like you would call them, memories."

"You saw one? Where?"

"Just at the foot of the great tombstone, but Kuwabara said that there were more, unfortunately they vanished before Yusuke and I saw them. What can you tell me about them? The memories?"

Botan did not need a moment to think. "Well, first you can't really classify them as ghosts anymore because they are absolutely not the spirit of the person who died and unlike ghosts who retain their form, memories do not have faces. They are like moving imprints, and depending on how powerful the soul of the dead person was, that's how vivid and that's how long the memory would play."

"Play?"

"It's like watching a video recording of what the person's life had been. The strongest feelings determine what part of their lives would play. Most of the times, memories would play out the last few moments the person had before they died, but sometimes, they just play out what they routinely do."

"Can a person choose what memory they would leave?"

"That I'm not exactly sure. Death often swoops down unexpectedly and if the way a person died was so horrible, it would be very likely that whatever imprint that person would leave would be the last minutes of his life, and again, depending on the strength of that person's spirit, he might play out hours of his life prior to his death. But then… there are times when a happy memory plays out, something that a person had done, ten years before his death. If this is the case then the memory left was based on the strong feelings felt and left at a certain place. It would seem so random but if you would really try to understand what the memory is saying, it would all seem to have sense."

"The one we saw and followed, she led us to a burial site where we found three toothless bodies."

"Oh dear… That's horrible. She's one of the bodies, isn't she? The memory you followed?"

"Yes, we found remains that matched the clothes the memory was wearing."

Botan's eyebrows furrowed. "This is all getting really serious, isn't it? And that strange house that Keiko saw, someone should go in there to investigate."

"We'll be working on it tonight." Kurama said somberly and Botan looked at him only to find how penetrating his emerald gaze was.

In an instant, specific, Kurama centered events of that day flashed through Botan's mind; from the time Kurama swept her away from the temple guide, the way he protected her, how he held her waist. The smell of roses, his smile. The time he carried her from the bathroom, the way he had softly spoken to her and how he had touched her face when he reassured her that she'll be alright.

Botan looked down as she felt her blood rush to her face.

"Oh boy…" She whispered tenuously.

"What is it?"

Botan assumed her cat-like expression, successfully concealing the color on her face. "Ah-it's nothing, I didn't say anything, just stupidly mumbling to myself!" She laughed uncomfortably.

Kurama smiled and he slowly stood up. "I guess that's all that I need to ask for now, would you like me to call Shizuru, Keiko and Yukina?"

"There's no need for that. I'll come out soon. There's cooking to be done, remember?"

"Don't strain yourself too much." Kurama reminded her as he went around the bed and towards the door to leave.

Botan noted the earnest concern on his tone but she quickly dismissed it. "Yes, doctor." She responded jestingly and when Kurama left and closed the door, she laid back on her bed with a slam feeling drained.

She clapped her hands on her face. The weakness she's feeling had nothing to do with the short struggle she had with the talisman wounds earlier, she was sure of it.

She got out of bed and began fixing herself up and as she did so, she restlessly paced around the room.

"Oh dear…" She whispered again to herself. She bit her lip and checked herself on the mirror by the desk and she saw how flushed her face was.

_Pull yourself together, Botan…_She told herself. _You can't deal with this now, you have a lot of things to do and besides… it's… it's just not …_

Her thoughts faltered as she slowly turned to the spot where Kurama had been sitting, then at the book he left on the desk infront of her. The book was from the small shelf under the desk and based on how many pages it had been flipped through, it looked like Kurama had been in her room for quite a while. Botan sighed and she placed the book back in shelf. She could be wrong but she had to acknowledge the fact that Kurama was being very attentive; he had always been the very definition of a nice, respectable guy but until now, she had never found him so exceedingly thoughtful and caring. Is she reading into his warm behavior too much? She can't say and she was definitely too emotionally flustered to think straight.

It was as though her thoughts had a flow of their own and try as she might, she could not find a way to stop it. She was now thinking of that time when Kurama helped her with her bag, the orange juice and of just last night, when she was secretly watching him from the gap on her door while he was at the garden.

"Oh, Kurama… I'm so sorry if I'm being an idiot but why did you have to be so nice?" Botan whined helplessly and she leaned on the desk with her head down.

"That's right!" She said, suddenly perking up and meeting her reflection on the mirror again. "He's just being nice that's all—that's all there is to it."

She was talking to herself now.

"You're over thinking things that you shouldn't even be thinking about, how daft can you get?" She pointed at her reflection. "Oh dear, I can't believe I'm making such a fuss over this." Botan wheeled around with an awkward grin on her face then she proceeded to fixing her bed. "I must've looked like a complete goner to make him worry so much—I couldn't even tell what day it is when I woke up, silly me."

And slowly, but not completely, the restless sensation on Botan's chest began fading away. However, for some reason, she was still walking aimlessly around her room.

_What am I supposed to do again?_

* * *

><p>Nakatsu strode back to Koenma's office and after making sure that she was alone, she shut the door close and she settled herself behind her own desk.<p>

Although she left Koenma with the impression that there was absolutely nothing going on behind his back, she could not take any chances that he'll try checking things behind her back. She had everything covered regarding the Nue case; the correspondent she mentioned to Koenma was merely a _new_ Styx pilot she had specifically assigned to observe the case in order for Botan to avoid being recognized in case she'd ran into another death deity. The only problem Nakatsu was having about the entire thing was that Botan had not called her yet. She knew that Botan brought the spirit detective tool kit with her so that they can establish a prompt way of communicating with one another in the event that something would go wrong, however a day and a half had passed and Botan hadn't called.

From the sleeves of her black kimono, Nakatsu took out a silver remote control and she pushed a combination of numbers on it. There was a whirring sound that echoed throughout the office and a screen in a shape of a big eye appeared infront of Koenma's desk. Nakatsu pushed another button so the screen would face her.

* * *

><p><em>I know there's something very important that I should be doing right now… but what is it? <em>Botan asked herself but after a few minutes of mulling over the question, she still couldn't think of the answer. She knew that whatever it was that she was supposed to be doing was certainly something very important because even though she does not know what it was exactly, the thought of not being able to carry it out was making her worry. The answer seemed to be at the tip of her tongue but at that moment, the image of a certain person was once again seeping into her brain and it's not helping her with her other problem. _Oh, come on! Think! No, it's not the food that I'll make for Ku—I mean Keiko and the others, that's for later! That important thing that I should be doing right now…its…its…_

All of a sudden, a continuous beeping noise started to fill the room.

"W-what is that?" Botan asked with a start and she fretfully looked around as she tried to locate where the sound was coming from, soon enough, her eyes locked on the bottom of her bed.

"Oh that's it!" She exclaimed gleefully and she crouched down on one side of her bed, lifted the sheets and pulled out the noisy white suitcase from under it. She had now realized what that important thing she should be doing; she was supposed to call Nakatsu.

In eager haste, Botan opened the suitcase, revealing a small square screen inside and the beeping sound stopped.

"Nakatsu-san!" She greeted her mentor happily but the image on the screen was wearing a severe look in her face which immediately told Botan to refrain from merrily accounting her experience in Houjin so far—especially with what just happened to her that morning—actually, she might have to keep that incident to herself.

"You do realize, that this is a part of your responsibility." Nakatsu began. "Botan, you were supposed to call me when you arrived in Houjin."

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot. I-I know it's a lame excuse but—but…"

Nakatsu sighed. "Is everything alright? You know that's all I need to know."

"Yes! Yes, everything is fine." Botan smiled widely, waving blithely at the screen. "But there is something I should probably let you know…" She then said in a slightly hesitant tone.

"What is it?"

"Uhm.., I ended up staying in the same house with Yusuke and the others." She whispered, only then realizing that she might have been too loud and that someone passing the hallway outside her room or someone in the garden on the other side might hear her.

"And how did that happen?"

"Well, they were not able to get a place stay here in town and they ended up going to this house I rented. Nakatsu-san I did try to stay away from them…" Botan dolefully said. "…but for some strange reason, Yusuke's team just fell on my lap. And Yusuke brought his girlfriend, and Shizuru, and Yukina, now it's sort of my responsibility to watch over them."

Nakatsu assumed a dubious look. "Now I'm wondering if Koenma picked the right person for this case…"

"Oh, no! They're the best, I assure you—they may not seem that way at first but they will get the job done."

"I suppose. I did receive a report that they found an artifact that's needed to complete Nue's resurrection."

"Really? Where?"

"The Utagawa Temple."

"I didn't know that… How come Ku, uhm, _they_ didn't mention that to me?"

Nakatsu raised an eyebrow at her. "Because you're not supposed to know, you're not supposed to get involved in the case. Your reason for going to Houjin was so you could find out more about your birthplace. How's that coming along?"

Botan shrunk back like a frightened cat. "Ah, well... I was able to visit the Utagawa temple this morning, and I know the names of the monks who took care of me." She informed Nakatsu and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she recited the names of the monks in her head. "W-Wait just a sec…" she said suddenly. "…you said you received a report? That means there's a pilot here who's overseeing the case?"

"Of course."

"B-b-but..." Botan frantically looked around. If there was another Styx pilot in town, she would definitely be discovered. Aside from that, with what just happened to her in the forest that morning, there may have been a chance that the Styx pilot who was assigned to the case may have witnessed what happened. Botan searched Nakatsu's face for any indication that a report was sent regarding that but she seemed unperturbed.

Nakatsu smiled reassuringly at Botan. "Do you think I'd let anyone find out about this little adventure of yours? The Styx pilot I sent is new, she doesn't know you, your name or what you look like. Just remember to be back here on Thursday morning, alright? Lord Koenma was asking for you just a while ago."

"What did he say? What did you say?"

"He's worried, but I don't think he'd try anything… he's still not well."

"That's, uhm… good, I guess." Botan muttered uncertainly.

"Remember, Botan, be back by Thursday." Nakatsu said gravely. "And please do call, you wouldn't want me making any racket just so I could contact you. It's a good thing you were alone when I called."

Botan sighed. _If Kurama had stayed longer in her room… _"Yes, it was a good thing you called when you did."

"Good, now then, I can't keep you long; I need to get back to work. Be careful, Botan."

"Thank you for everything, Nakatsu-san." She said softly then she slowly snapped the suitcase close and slid it back under the bed.

The unexpected call from Nakatsu seemed to have brought Botan back to her senses and she had her sight back on her original venture. She remained slumped on the floor as she reviewed her conversation with Nakatsu.

Koenma was still unwell and that gave her until Thursday still to finish her business in Houjin. That said, tonight, she may have to go back to the Utagawa temple to find the monks' exhibit; it was an uncertain idea she had when she was in the temple that morning, the idea was then completely forgotten at lunch time but now, after speaking with Nakatsu, the idea was already definite.

Botan stood up and she glanced at the bottom of her bed. She figured it wouldn't be too hard to sneak out tonight. She could simply summon her oar and fly to the temple in her spirit form so she could easily and covertly go about the temple in search of the exhibit. Although it was too bad that the temple guide was not able to at least point to where the exhibit was being kept, she did bring all the Spirit Detective tools with her and that includes the Psychic Spyglass which would allow her to see through walls and it would let her save a lot of time searching the vast temple.

She smiled, pleased at her plans for tonight.

* * *

><p>The sky was still blue that warm afternoon when Botan stepped out of her room and into the garden. There she found Keiko who immediately ran to her to check if she was indeed out of danger and after showing her and everyone else that she was fine, with Kurama seconding her reassurances, she excused herself to look for the owner of the house to ask her permission to use the kitchen.<p>

The kitchen was a separate structure located at the back of the house and from inside, through the wide windows, Botan had a view of a smaller garden and the trees that grew behind it and further. Looking long enough, she was able to see electrical cables hanging on some of the branches of the trees and when Botan followed the cables with her eyes, she saw that they were connected to small lanterns that were hooked on the higher branches of the trees.

"Do they still work, Obaasan?" Botan asked the old lady who had gladly led her to the kitchen.

Obaasan followed where Botan was pointing. "Oh, dear, not anymore. Last summer, we had a visitor here who forgot to turn it off, there was nothing wrong with that but sadly it happened the day when it suddenly rained, needless to say, the bulbs popped like firecrackers, thank goodness the trees weren't caught on fire. That's all my husband's idea, he had it put up last year, as you see it didn't last very long."

"But it must've been very pretty."

"It was." The old lady agreed then she smiled. "Well, here is the kitchen, may I ask why you wanted to prepare the meal for tonight? Didn't you like the food I cooked yesterday?"

"Oh no, it's not that. The dinner last night was lovely." Botan quickly said. "And I'm not making anything as substantial as an entire meal, I'm afraid that task is still rightfully yours, Obaasan." She smiled awkwardly at the old lady. "I'm thinking of side dishes, or deserts."

"Do you need any help?"

"No thank you, I think I can handle everything on my own." Botan answered cheerfully as she looked around. It seemed everything she needed would be in the kitchen and she's already excited to get started. She felt like making something fruity.

Obaasan looked meaningfully at Botan. "You know, when I first met you, you don't look like a solitary person at all… but you do seem to prefer doing things alone." She said.

"Uhm, not really it's just—" Botan wanted to contradict what the old lady had said but she was already walking out of the kitchen and Botan watched her go through the small garden and back into the house.

Perhaps Obaasan had a point, the first time they met she was pretty adamant that she was renting the house solely for her own use and she denied having friends to accompany her, and now, there she was, opening unfamiliar cupboards and shelves, looking for the ingredients she needed for the cake she thought she could easily make for her friends who were currently at the other side of the house.

Back at the garden, everyone was inquiring why she wanted to see the kitchen, asking if she needed some sort of assistance, but she just smiled at them and left.

She shrugged her shoulders, trying to keep in mind that she had a specific purpose for being in Houjin and that originally did not involve anyone else but herself. Besides, she wanted the girls to be surprised with what she'll be able to make for them, it wouldn't make any sense if she'd ask them to help her in the kitchen.

Botan continued opening the shelves and she also checked the fridge; so far she was able to find sugar, butter, eggs, thick slabs of dark and white chocolate and a variety of chilled berries. All she needed was some flour.

About a quarter of an hour later, the entire kitchen looked like it had been raided by raccoons.

* * *

><p>"I don't understand. Why was Botan looking for the kitchen again?" Keiko asked as she watched Yusuke and Kuwabara prepare the things they would need for their mission that night.<p>

Yusuke tossed a flashlight inside a small backpack then he turned to Kurama. "You sure that tea you made her drink didn't have any side effects? She looked like she was pretty happy about something… too happy."

"Happy is a good thing, especially with all that hell she just went through." Shizuru remarked. "But if Botan was happy, I don't think it's because of the tea." She added, stealing a glance at the red-head who was quietly sitting with them in the living room. No one saw Kurama after he left their little meeting hours ago and she could only assume that he had spent all those time in Botan's room; to what extent that was necessary, no one knew. Right now, Shizuru chose to be a bit juvenile; _instead_ of letting herself side with the more logical reason that Kurama merely stayed at Botan's side to make sure that the injured deity would fully recover with the medicine he gave, Shizuru chose to let herself assume something else. For the meantime she'll keep the childish notion to herself though, after all, she could be wrong.

"You spiked her tea with some demon caffeine or something? If you did, can you give me some for my all-nighters?" Kuwabara asked.

"Botan is simply a lot stronger than we give her credit for." Yukina smiled, remembering how Botan still managed to crack a few jokes even when she was in pain.

"Er—right." Kuwabara embarrassingly agreed.

Kurama smiled at Yukina's remark. "I didn't give her anything but what she needed for her wounds." He answered. "The reason why she was looking for the kitchen was because she felt bad for ruining your plans earlier and she thought she'd make it up to you with a meal."

"Plans? What plans?" Keiko asked.

"Oh… That idiot." Shizuru groaned, realizing what Kurama was referring to. "She's still thinking about the spa thing we've planned this morning."

"What? So she thinks it's her fault we weren't able to go to the spa? That's silly, it's not like we're blaming her for being injured." Keiko said in disbelief. "If there's someone to blame that would be me—now I feel even more horrible."

"Hey, no one's blaming anybody here." Yusuke said and he was all the more determined to find out what secrets are being kept in the house in the forest.

"We should probably look for the kitchen now too. Botan might need some help." Shizuru said.

"Well, you know… Botan's effort would be for nothing if you decide to meddle with what she's trying to do for you guys. And come on, it's just food." Kuwabara said unexpectedly.

Shizuru gawked at her brother. "You pour boiling water on yourself whenever you eat noodles, enough said."

Keiko sighed. "I appreciate the gesture, I really do but… we don't deserve it."

"Botan doesn't think that." Kurama kindly said. "And she was quite excited when she told me she'd cook for you. It's not like she's reprimanding herself with what she's doing."

"See… Botan's gonna be fine."Yusuke said. "She does tend to overexert herself sometimes for the most trivial reasons but if walking around the house and cooking was going to be bad for her then Kurama would've tied her down to her bed or something, right Kurama?"

Kurama didn't answer but everyone got the point of what Yusuke was trying to say. Shizuru tried to hide a mischievous grin.

"So just let her do her thing, okay?" Yusuke added. "If Botan needed help she'd ask for it."

* * *

><p>Botan stared at the ingredients on the table. For the past half hour, she managed to turn the kitchen inside out but she still had not found even the slightest trace of flour. Feeling a bit beaten down, she started returning some of the things she pulled out from the shelves, most of which weren't really needed in making a cake.<p>

While she was restoring the kitchen back into order, she was already thinking of what other type of fruity dessert she'd be able to make with eggs, chocolates and berries, she was also considering finding Obaasan again just so she could ask if they were keeping the flour elsewhere.

_Maybe I do need help. _Botan thought and her heart lurched and woolly kind of warmth started creeping through her skin when her thoughts reeled back to those things she thought she had put out of her mind after Nakatsu called; she had just thought of Kurama again and not only was she recalling her interactions with him that morning and yesterday, her mind was automatically going over her recent conversation with him as well. Funny how her mind instantaneously jumped to Kurama when she admitted that she needed help at that moment, another girl, like one of the maids for example would've been a better candidate for a task in the kitchen but no, the first person she thought of was Kurama.

When she had come out of her room a while ago and she saw him, she tried not to stare. However her efforts must've been futile because if she had not been staring at him then she wouldn't see how many times he had looked at her—and as if by reflex, she just had to smile everytime he looked her way. It felt weird, but it must be that good kind of weird because she doesn't want it to go away.

She had not felt anything like it for anyone before.

A hushed voice somewhere in the corner of her musing mind was telling her how bitterly comical all of her current sentiments would be though if she was misinterpreting Kurama's conduct towards her. She smiled rather sadly at this and once again felt foolish.

Botan held tightly on the fragile glass punch bowl that she was in the middle of returning lest it would slip from her hands, pulling herself away from a needless daydream, reminding herself that she had a chore to finish and a dessert to make.

She raised her head, the punch bowl had come from one of the higher cupboards and as Botan was returning it there, she noticed a shelf that she hadn't opened yet.

She set the bowl aside for a moment and stretched her arms to open the bolted shelf, there she realized why she hadn't ransacked that shelf yet; it was too high for her to reach, the tip of her fingers merely grazed the very bottom of its wooden surface.

Too tired to even drag the footstool which was at one corner of the kitchen, she stood at the tip of her toes to reach for the latch on the shelf.

While she was endeavoring at this, Botan felt the presence of another person in the kitchen.

"Need help with that, Miss Botan?" Came the eerily familiar deep sounding voice.

Botan turned, her eyes wide in a mix of alarmed confusion and silent anger; standing behind her was the temple guide, Rokuro Tadashi.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Wow... This Chapter was chatty... (^.^)

so... yeah... I'm so sorry for the late update! (T_T) and once again I hope this Chapter is worth the wait and it's lenghty enough for my increasing lack of my punctuality. :D

Thanks for adding the story to your Story Alert subscription **Cream-Bunny**, **animevideogame freak**, and **middlekertz**!

Thanks for the favs **musika**, **pei-chan**,**Miss RaeFo**x, and **authorchik039**!

Thank you for the new reviews **Danielle Winters** and **middlekertz**, **yu-yu4ever**, **animevideogame freak**, **Kinishra22**, **galacticsiren22**, and **majo18**!


	14. Chapter 14 Sparks

Chapter XIV

**Sparks**

Toxic. If there was a perfect word to describe the man standing before her, that would be it.

Botan was at a loss for words and she stared at Rokuro, quite shocked at the possibility of him being there in the kitchen with her. He no longer wore the dark temple uniform, instead, he had a normal looking, casual outfit on but he could not be mistaken for anyone else, he did have that striking, handsome face and that towering height which shadowed Botan, making her feel small and cornered. She stepped to one side, putting as much distance between herself and the temple guide.

"W-What are you doing here?" Botan asked, backing away even more. She caught the frightened tone of her own voice and she scowled to hide her anxiety.

Rokuro smiled but not to extend any sort of assurance that she should not worry about anything, rather, the smile seemed to be an indication that he found her alarmed reaction amusing. He was enjoying the fear he thought he could affect on her. But Botan was not afraid, she had merely been startled.

Botan collected herself, crossed her arms and with a steady voice, she addressed Rokuro again. "What are you doing here?"

"This is a pleasant surprise." He said coolly. "I could ask you the same question."

"I rented this house. What's your excuse?"Botan responded firmly. She was aware that she was being rude but she had every excuse to be so. No need to actually wonder and ask how and why the temple guide was there, the thing was, she did not want him there and she wanted him to vanish, if possible, right at that spot where he was standing, right at that very moment.

Rokuro tilted his head as if to study Botan. It was indeed a surprise that he had encountered the beautiful girl for a second time that day. He supposed fate was giving him another chance to woo her, but now, she appeared to be acting differently; she had been very agreeable and charming earlier but now she was neither. He smiled at her again, amiably, like he had done when he first approached her in the middle of the temple's second chamber but she continued to stare sternly. The blue haired girl was now not easily swayed and he thought she was just another naïve tourist.

"I'm here to see my sister." Rokuro said, his smile unfazed.

_His sister? _Botan thought curiously and for a moment she almost pardoned Rokuro's sudden arrival in the Aramata house and in that very kitchen but with what happened in the temple, the way in which he had decadently held her in his gaze, after he had led her to believe he was to be a new friend—Botan retained her utter dislike of him. "Well… as you can see, I'm the only one here. You may need to look for your sister someplace else." She informed him and then she slightly gestured a hand towards the open door.

Botan thought he was about to turn and leave but to her disbelief, he stepped forward, towards her.

If he had thought that she was going to step back in fear, she proved him wrong and she stood her ground. He bent down so that their eyes were slightly leveled and Botan was thankful that he was not standing so close. However, she knew that he was trying to invade what remained of her personal space, maybe because he wanted to test if he could bring out that frightened reaction again. Unknown to him, all that he had managed to provoke from her so far was the urge to hit him with a rolling pin and run.

"You are very pretty, you must know that, you must hear it all the time." He said softly.

Botan gave him an incredulous look and despite the awkwardness of the entire scene, she wondered what he was trying to achieve with what he said. If he was trying to give her compliment then he was failing miserably. Rokuro was handsome and he had charm; he had every physical qualities needed in order to be pursued by any woman but his conceited way of carrying himself and his lack of propriety was working against his merits and Botan nearly felt sorry for him.

"I like you." He suddenly stated.

"What..?" Botan exclaimed disbelievingly then after being astounded for a good two seconds, she bit her lip and looked down—trying hard not to laugh out loud. Her initial anxiety of Rokuro's presence in the kitchen had now completely vanished and she plainly viewed the whole instance as one of the most ridiculous situations she had ever been in.

* * *

><p>Kurama laid the pen back on the table and he scanned the instructions he had written down on a piece of paper. After making sure that he did not miss anything, he neatly folded the paper and slipped it inside his shirt pocket.<p>

For a moment he decided whether he would wait until dinner to give Botan the instructions on how to brew the medicinal tea he had given her for her talisman injuries, but in such a short time, her absence had made him want to see her again. The time he had spent in Botan's room, when he had held her hand in his, he felt as though time had stopped, but when he let go, he thought the moment had been too short-lived. Setting aside those questions that were directed to his perplexing behavior towards the deity, he was able to revel in the pleasure of simply being near her without being troubled by the lack of answers and he enjoyed the conversation she had with her when she awoke so much so that he wanted to speak to her again. Now.

He had not lost sight of his intentions to discover her secret though and he was still convinced that it was the reason why he was being drawn to her. While there had been some instances, at the span of his stay in Botan's room, that he wanted to just go ahead and open the white suitcase hidden under her bed, a part of him reasoned that doing that would simply be too easy and too underhanded.

Kurama exited his room and he quietly threaded through the long hallway to the front of the house, he passed the living room, unnoticed by everyone else until he met one of the maids at the entry way.

The maid was the woman whom he had a brief chat with yesterday. He recalled that her name was Anko and she seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere, with heavy groceries in her arms.

Anko saw Kurama and the latter was obliged to offer his assistance.

When Kurama approached, Anko hastily heaved the two paper bags to him, thanking him breathlessly, but instantly realizing that she had just passed a chore to one of the house guests, she apologetically and quite forcefully took the groceries back from Kurama, her arms unintentionally caressing his; and if someone else had seen them, one could easily mistake them to be in the middle of embracing one another.

Anko blushed, she looked up at him coyly and Kurama was no fool to not know what she was now trying to do. He was no innocent stranger to such behaviors; he had always been in the receiving end of those kinds of looks and he had always accepted them passively.

Without saying anything, but being as gallant as he normally was, Kurama communicated with half a smile that he'd gladly carry the paper bags for her. In any case, Kurama reasoned to himself, she obviously was heading for the kitchen and that was where he had planned to go.

They walked side by side and they headed towards the back of the house.

"He must be tired of waiting for me now…" Anko said anxiously as they walked. The statement she uttered was not a simple murmur she directed to herself, it was loud and deliberate, and she seemed to have paused on purpose to invite Kurama to inquire what she was talking about.

Kurama was not in the mood to indulge the lady with false interest but he did not like to be disrespectful either so he glanced at her to tell her he was listening.

"My brother, I told him to meet me in the kitchen, you see, Obaasan does not really like seeing him here." She continued as they turned to one corner and they finally saw the kitchen.

* * *

><p>"Now.., what do you suppose we do about that?" Rokuro asked, referring to his proclamations of his liking for Botan. He was trying to catch Botan's gaze but she avoided him for she was still struggling to fight back a laugh—a real chime of a laugh.<p>

"I'm sorry but, I…" She tried to say and she decided to no longer hide her glee and she smiled awkwardly up at Rokuro. "I'm really busy at the moment so please, can you please leave?"

"You are being difficult." He said teasingly.

"And you are being funny." Botan said, the words slipping from her mouth before she could stop them.

"Funny?" He sounded offended.

At that moment, Botan's eyes wandered to the door and there she saw Kurama and one of the maids.

Rokuro turned his head to look out as well and he momentarily looked pleased at the sight of his sister, but his mien became grave when he saw Kurama. How could he have forgotten that the bothersome red-head was a close companion of the blue haired girl? He should've expected him to be there too.

"Rokuro!" Anko cheerfully called to her brother, not noticing the silent hostility between the man beside him and the one in the kitchen.

But Botan noticed it. Although Kurama's face remained impassive, the expression in his eyes did change from calm and cordial to contemptuous and cold. There Botan was able to confirm that the dark and baleful look she had seen in Kurama's eyes when they were in the temple was real all along. Botan glanced back at Rokuro and saw that he too was wearing a sort of spiteful mask though his was not as quietly intense and his was molded with a smug smile.

Botan looked at one face to another, unsure on how everything would turn out from there. Finally, with a feigned cheerful mood, she began dispersing the dreadful aura between the two men. She gaily walked towards Kurama and the maid, meeting them in the graveled path in the middle of the small garden.

"You must be her sister!" Botan addressed the raven-haired maid with a cheerful smile.

"Uhm, yes. Has he been there a while? I hope he was not bothering you." The maid replied.

"No, not at all." Botan lied. "He was just asking where he could find you—and there you are!" She said, turning to the direction of the kitchen and presenting Anko to Rokuro as though she was some sort of prize he had one on a game show. "I'll get that for you so you could take him—I mean talk to him." She then said as she took the bag of groceries she was holding.

"But…"

"No, it's alright. I told Obaasan I'll be handling the kitchen for a while, isn't that right Kurama?" She smiled at Kurama and he nodded sternly.

Anko was having second thoughts about leaving Kurama's side but her brother was already walking to her and he seemed to be annoyed by something.

"Thank you for your help, Kurama." Anko bowed and she clung to her brother's arm when he finally passed by them.

Botan instinctively stood infront of Kurama when Rokuro fetched his sister, prepared to be the one who protects, instead of the one being protected. The temple guide was not worth Kurama's trouble.

"You are becoming quite a nuisance, you know that?" Rokuro hissed at Kurama.

The feeling of cold dread washed over Botan and she struggled to say something but Anko had taken that burden from her.

"Rokuro!" She exclaimed, her face was crimson with indignity and confusion. "What are you talking about?" She whispered, she couldn't understand the reason why her brother would suddenly say something so foul to someone he had just met.

Her brother did not answer her and he half dragged her away out of the garden and they headed to the front of the house.

When they were both out of sight, Botan slowly turned to Kurama, a little afraid of what expression he might read in his face. However, she was not able to see it for he had already began walking towards the kitchen.

* * *

><p>His animosity for that man was incomprehensible. And for him to be near Botan again; something was gnawing away at his heart and he could not bear it.<p>

Kurama tried to calm himself down by watching Botan work in the kitchen and through his stormy mind he caught her, once, twice, warily glancing at him as though she was afraid of what he'd do. He reproached himself for his lack of composure and the granite countertop he was resting his hands on cracked beneath his fingers.

Hearing the sound of stone being crumbled, Botan turned and she walked up to him.

Kurama smiled bitterly and he searched Botan's face for any fearful or uncertain feature, like the ones that he had already seen, but he found only reassurance and understanding, openness and ease. While he was a roaring gale, she was a calm cloudless sky.

Botan sighed inwardly. She was a little apprehensive about approaching him at first but she could not allow him to remain outraged. Any other person would have retaliated against that rude remark Rokuro made but as expected of Kurama, he restrained himself. The problem now was that she knew he was seething inside and she doesn't want him to be consumed by something as petty as the arrogant temple guide; he was a joke and someone to be laughed at and she'd try her best to somehow get rid of that dark aura that was surrounding Kurama. She's not used to seeing him that way—actually, not until recently had she noticed that dark side of him and in a way, she was the cause of it. If she had not been so gullible as to entertain the temple guide in the first place, Kurama wouldn't be in this mess.

Before realizing what she was doing, Botan had already placed her right hand over Kurama's chest and it was the sensation of his heartbeat on her palm that told her what she had done. She looked up at him, almost apologetically, but she did not remove her hand.

"Kurama, you can't let that guy get to you… Sure he's annoying, disgusting, weird and creepy—" She enumerated and she was delighted to see him smile, lightheartedly this time.

Right then Botan was struck by something; in the most figurative sense, something sharp did pierce her heart and it became still, afterwards it was beating again but the blood that it had sent coursing through her veins was no longer just carrying warmth and life itself, it had also carried awareness; an understanding of something really wonderful and scary.

Leap of faith. Dive headlong. Yield and admit—she was falling for Kurama.

Botan smiled back at Kurama, widely, hiding the emotion that was felt by her heart that might soon be expressed on her face. Sadness, confusion, pain, and even the look of affection can be hidden in something as simple as a wide friendly smile. She did not have any particular issue on being honest about her feelings but she was not a fool to go about and let it be known by everyone else, especially by the very person she was holding the feelings for. To be found out, at the very least would be embarrassing, at the most, and in a worst case scenario, she might get hurt—really bad.

After admitting to herself that she was smitten with the red-head infront of her, there was no longer an option to turn back and pretend she wasn't. But she had to act normal, like she always had when she was around Kurama, even though she had no idea what that _normal_ was.

She began by casually removing her hand from his chest.

_Oh dear, what was I saying again? _Botan asked herself, realizing that she left what she was saying hanging. Still hiding behind a grin, she hastily resumed with her speech. "— he's weird and creepy, I think he's a bit insane too. I was trying my best not to laugh at him earlier, he was acting all cool and lovable…" Botan paused and she laughed heartily. "You should've seen him, his not worth your time, I tell you. And if he shows his face here again, I'll take care of him for you, afterall, he's my adversary, not yours."

Kurama closed his eyes and he smiled in agreement. Gazing down on Botan's face, he seemed to have been ensnared in a trancelike state and her voice and laughter, her touch, swept away the livid feelings in his chest.

"Thank you." He said gently.

"So… That girl was his sister." Botan said. She wasn't sure what subject they should talk about now but she was curious to know how Kurama ended up being with Rokuro's sister. "She seems nice." She added.

"You told me _he_ was not worth my time, I think I'll take your advice and apply it to his relative too."

Botan's eyes grew wide. "Don't tell me she's like her brother?" She asked disbelievingly then she recalled the time when the girl had made that orange juice specifically for Kurama and Botan got a pout from her. She giggled despite of the small pang of jealousy she felt.

"I came here to give this to you." Kurama said, disregarding Botan's question and he handed Botan the piece of paper from his pocket.

Botan unfolded it and she beamed at Kurama. "Thanks!" She said cheerfully. She then turned and started rummaging through the paper bags they brought in.

_Will he leave? _Botan thought. She wanted him to stay but she didn't know what to say.

For quite a while, the kitchen became silent and only the sound of paper being crumpled and glass clinking can be heard that Botan thought Kurama had left.

"What are you making?" Kurama suddenly came up behind her and she wheeled around with a start.

_He's still here!_

Kurama mistook her stunned look for something else and he gestured at the door. "Would you like to be left alone?"

"No." Botan said and mustering her strength, she resolved to say what she really wanted to say. "Stay, please. It would really be great if I have someone here to help me."

Botan's words were spoken in a warm, friendly way but she had no idea how those words had greatly affected Kurama. She didn't know how it had made him glad to know that she needed him. She had no idea that she had placed herself more steadfastly in his mind and that without Kurama's own awareness of it, he regarded her even more.

Kurama smiled at Botan and he stood at her side.

* * *

><p>"Rokuro, what was that all about?" Anko demanded when they finally reached the very entrance of the Aramata residence. She and her brother stood just beside the slab of stone that had the family name Aramata inscribed on it.<p>

Rokuro gritted his teeth. "That red-head! He lives here…" He drawled as though he was just realizing a fact that he had already confirmed just a few minutes ago. "He's always getting in my way. I almost had that girl but that guy always shows up everytime I make my move! I almost had her!"

"Had her? The one with the blue hair?" Anko asked. Somehow understanding what her brother was fuming about; she's very much aware of his fondness for pretty girls.

"Yes!"

"I think you should give her up." Anko said with a slight air of annoyance in her tone.

Her brother looked at her.

"That red-head you're so pissed off right now, he's an absolute gentleman and I also think that he has a thing for the girl you like. Can't compete with that." She said, rolling her eyes.

"He has a thing for her? How can you tell?"

Anko shrugged her shoulder.

Rokuro smiled knowingly. "You can tell because you're looking; looking at the red-head to be exact. You like him!" He declared. "No wonder you look… scorned."

Anko scoffed. "You know, there are two other girls in his group but he always seemed to prefer her. She's so plain and…and… she's nothing special at all!"

"That's like telling me I have no taste in women."

"You called _my_ Kurama a nuisance!"

Rokuro did not answer but an already obvious strategy, to which he and his sister can benefit, was forming in his mind. "If there really is something going on between those two, I think you already know what to do."

Anko smiled cunningly. "Oh, I do."

"If I have to play the rebound guy to get her, then so be it." Rokuro said.

* * *

><p>"There's no flour here either." Kurama informed Botan as he closed the door of the last, unsearched cupboard in the kitchen. Botan pouted and she was once again deep in thought on what dessert to make with just eggs, chocolate and berries.<p>

"The universe is working against me..." She said jokingly.

"Maybe you could make something else, or if you really want to bake a cake, you may need to do that tomorrow. It's too late to go shopping for supplies now." Kurama said, glancing at the window where the color of the sky had gone orange; the sun was setting. "I'll accompany you tomorrow if you like." He added rather kindly. From time to time he had been noticing how Botan would blush and pale and he worried that she may not be as well as they've thought.

"No. I can't give up now…" Botan decide to say, although Kurama's suggestion was not bad and it would be a great opportunity to spend time with him again, she had already made up her mind that she's going to make something for the girls today. "I got it!" She then said suddenly and she began gathering the things she'd need. "I'm going to make white chocolate mousse!"

"What would you like me to do?" Kurama asked readily and it earned him a sweet smile from Botan.

"This is going to be a breeze… you can just… I don't know, hang around, if you don't mind." Botan said uncertainly as she started putting on the apron she unhooked from the wall.

"I don't mind." Kurama said and he leaned back on the kitchen counter opposite Botan and with no other thing to do, he watched her from there.

It may be due to the fact that Kurama was in the kitchen with her or it could be that her hands were still a bit numb from the talisman injury, but either way, Botan found it tricky tying the apron around her and she couldn't make a simple bow.

When Botan glanced at Kurama, he had a hand over his mouth, and was clearly stifling a laugh. She glared at him and he strode towards her. Next thing Botan knew, they were standing face to face and she stood stock still when Kurama's arms went around her waist to fasten the apron and tie the seemingly complicated bow on the small of her back.

The gesture took Botan's breath away; it terrified her, but despite all that, the scent of roses was still able to invade her flustered senses.

"There, now you're all set." Kurama said, stepping away from her—he didn't want to, but he had to let her go.

Both their hearts were racing madly in their chests but neither of them had the appearance of it.

Fighting to maintain her composure, and slowly winning it, Botan placed her hands on her hips to be sure they do not tremble freely and she spoke to Kurama as he went back to his original station. "What am I going to do without you, Kurama?" She said good-humoredly then she turned and began working.

In a span of ten minutes they didn't talk; Botan melted white chocolates on one side of the kitchen and Kurama, who insisted to help, washed and drained the cold raspberries he took out from the fridge. At first it was awkward, but soon enough they both relaxed and like an old married couple they began to really help out one another, even criticizing each other's progress with what they were working on. The recipe for white chocolate and raspberry mousse was a no-brainer but Botan and Kurama worked on it as though it was a complex chemistry experiment.

Through an outsiders eye, the two appeared to be performing a well rehearsed dance; the kitchen had enough room but it was not that spacious. Working so close with one another, there had always been a chance that they would bump into each other but it seemed both of them knew where the other was and they avoided getting in each other's way without looking.

And the outsider who had the chance of watching this dance was Obaasan who was hurriedly running to the kitchen to prepare dinner and was also occupied by a bothersome thought. The old lady stopped just outside the door and despite her annoyance by something she saw earlier, she smiled when she saw Kurama and Botan.

"Good to know you're no longer alone." Obaasan spoke and the two glanced and greeted her. "I saw Anko and her brother walking out from here a while ago… I would have gone here sooner but I'm a slow old woman." She sighed and she entered the kitchen and went straight beside the stove. "You, young man…" She pointed at Kurama. "… you did very well accompanying her here. Did you meet Rokuro? Anko's brother?"

"Uhm, yes… I actually met him in the temple this morning." Botan replied quietly. Neither she, and most importantly, nor Kurama would want to open the subject of the temple guide and his sister again.

"Oh, goodness. Don't tell me he followed you here?"

"No, he said he went here to meet with his sister." Botan said then she turned to Kurama's side and she joined him with lining the bottom of small glasses with layers of raspberries.

"That boy needs to get his life straight." Obaasan continued, fetching vegetables and meat from the fridge as she spoke. "And until then, I won't allow him to be near my house or my female guests, that's what I told Anko. But she still brought him here…" The old lady shook her head.

_Wow, he's like some kind of a notorious felon. Even Obaasan hates him… He must be really vile. _Botan thought. "Obaasan, we're done with my dessert. Do you need help with anything?" She asked, meaning to stray away from the current topic of conversation completely.

"Yes, thank you dears." The old lady said.

The hours passed in which Kurama and Botan witnessed what a master-chef of a woman Obaasan was and after Botan eagerly insisted that she'd tag along with her tomorrow everytime she prepares the meal, they all soon left the kitchen to get ready for dinner.

* * *

><p>Dinner was over quickly and everyone retired to their rooms; while the girls changed into their pajamas, the boys were secretly gearing up for the missions that were assigned to them.<p>

At around ten that night, when the entire house was dark and silent, Yusuke and Kuwabara were the first to leave, heading for the forest behind the Utagawa temple where the house protected by the talisman was located.

Botan watched them as they left; she was invisible, hidden in the shadows of one of the house's pillars. She was in her spirit form and ordinary humans will not be able to see her, but the glow of her light blue hair, her fair skin and her pink kimono would easily reveal her to those who were gifted with the ability to see so she still had to be careful, and be as stealthy and as quiet as a cat burglar.

She checked her pockets and after making sure that the Psychic Spyglass was there, she summoned her oar and flew northwards to the Utagawa temple.

* * *

><p>Inside his room, in the gloom of a small lampshade, Kurama stood infront of his window. He planned to exit from there but as soon as he slid it open, the door of his room opened too and when he turned to see who was there, he saw Anko who was now sliding the door close behind her.<p>

Kurama narrowed his eyes at her. He did feel that someone was outside his door but he thought the person was only passing by. He didn't expect that that someone would intrude his privacy, particularly at that time when he was about to leave. His door was locked but he supposed that the maids would have access to key duplicates—and he was right.

Anko smiled at him as she discreetly slipped the key back in her pocket. She was wearing a plain, light purple kimono and her long raven hair was cascading down her back like glossy silk.

"You're still awake." She said as though she was making a jaunty observation. She then walked towards Kurama. "I can't sleep either…" She then whispered.

"Please go back to your room, Anko-san." Kurama said, calmly leaning against the wall and still choosing to be polite; even though he knew exactly why the woman was in his room, even though he knew what the woman was trying to accomplish. She had that sensual look in her lovely face, her movements were alluring and natural—she had done this before.

Kurama glanced at the clock on the side table, he was supposed to leave at that moment and timing was imperative to his task.

"You're going somewhere?" Anko asked when she saw him glance at the clock.

"Yes, to sleep. We have a lot of things to do tomorrow." He said, concealing his impatience behind a calm smile.

"Sleep?" Anko laughed. "You're all dressed up. Let me help you change…" She said languidly and she reached out to unbutton his shirt.

Kurama caught her hands. "Please don't do something that you'll regret, Anko-san."

"I'm sure I won't regret this." She murmured.

"Stop this." Kurama said firmly. The more the woman got closer to him, the more he wanted to push her away. The littlest of her skin that touches his, repels him.

Overconfidence does not feed rejection well and Anko glowered at him. "You… you didn't even ask why I'm here, you didn't have to ask because you know. And yet, you drive me away." She leered at him from head to toe. "Are you g—"

Whatever spiteful remark Anko was about to make no longer came out of her mouth. She didn't know what happened but she found herself lying on the floor and Kurama was hovering above her. He was grasping her wrists tightly above her head and she smiled triumphantly.

"I knew I'd bring out the real man inside you." She said.

"I don't need to prove myself to someone as insignificant as you." He said and his voice had gone deep and his face was filled with contempt.

The smile on Anko's face disappeared and she searched Kurama's eyes for that slight chance that he was just kidding around but all she saw was sinister, cold, hatred. And it may be a trick of the light but instead of green, she saw a pair of golden eyes looking back at her.

"Woman, you repulse me… I can tear you to pieces right now and your brother wouldn't even recognize you. Is that man enough for you?" Kurama snarled.

"I…" Anko's throat went dry.

This time, it was Kurama who eyed and scrutinized her. "You are beautiful… but you deserve no love. You don't even deserve my bed." He released her hands and he stood up, leaving her on the cold floor. "Leave!"

Anko gathered herself quietly, her entire body trembling in fear but she didn't receive a sliver of compassion from Kurama.

When she was gone, it was as though nothing happened. After making sure that his door was locked, Kurama took off from his window and into the dark cold night.


	15. Chapter 15 Hide and Seek

Chapter XV

**Hide and Seek**

They have long been immersed in a life tainted with the supernatural but the darkness in which they have found themselves had that certain feel to it which sent them back to their toddler years filled with monsters under the bed, white faced eye-less ghosts, skeletons and gore. Thankfully, those feelings and thoughts were easily shrugged off and Yusuke and Kuwabara continued walking through the dense forest beside the Utagawa temple.

What lied before them seemed to be an endless woodland filled with different shades of black and vague, irregular shapes but despite all that, they were able to find the precise spot where the girls have been earlier; a small distance from there would be that clearing where they dug up the toothless skeletons.

Yusuke took out his flashlight and he gave their surroundings a quick light-sweep. They saw the hedges Keiko described but he stopped when he spotted something on the ground.

Kuwabara shone his own flashlight on it as well and he picked it up.

"Is this Keiko's?" Kuwabara asked as he handed the small bag to Yusuke.

"I don't know." Yusuke replied. He then opened the bag and found it almost empty except for a lip gloss, a compact powder and a wallet that had an ID with the name Botan Nakatsu on it. "This is Botan's." Yusuke showed the ID to Kuwabara.

"She must've dropped that here." Kuwabara said and he looked at the ID closely. The photo there was that of Botan wearing the brown wig and Kuwabara sniggered. "Botan is really weird. Why bother wearing a wig if she was going to remove it anyways? And I didn't know her surname was Nakatsu."

"Must be a fake name." Yusuke supposed. "Just keep the bag in yours and let's find that entrance to the house."

"Yeah, alright." Kuwabara agreed and with their flashlights aimed at the bottom of the hedges, they started looking for the talisman.

"What does that talisman even look like?" Yusuke suddenly asked.

Kuwabara scratched his head. "I don't know, I forgot to ask Yukina, he-he…"

Disregarding Kuwabara's unhelpful answer they continued their search. After a few minutes, they saw a small, white, brick-like statue that was carelessly planted at the roots of the hedge. It had the face of a tiger carved on it and a fading inscription that they can no longer read. It would have looked perfect among the all artifacts they saw in the Utagawa temple and they knew that the old, innocent looking rectangular piece of stone was the talisman they were looking for.

"Okay! Let's bust this gate wide open!" Kuwabara said enthusiastically and he summoned his Spirit Sword.

At sword and arms length, Kuwabara warily prodded the thick wall of leaves infront of him and in the darkness of that forest, something flickered at the tip of the Spirit Sword, then a light, spreading out in a form of giant spider web illuminated that part of the woods momentarily, burning away the leaves of the hedge and creating a smoke-filled entry. When the smoke cleared, the glow of the barrier had disappeared as well, but they knew it was still there and the house beyond it was still being extremely concealed and protected.

"Looks like we'd really need your Dimension Sword for this one, Kuwabara." Yusuke smiled.

"No problem!" Kuwabara grinned and another sword, which was pretty much like his usual one appeared in his hand and without difficulty, he cut through the invisible barrier infront of him. The small talisman on the ground crumbled into dust and a grand old house appeared beyond the hedge.

They turned their flashlights off and merged with the darkness around them.

At first, the two tried to slowly and quietly walk towards the house, however, each step they took either created a crunching or a rustling sound so they decided to throw away the stealthy mode and proceed with running towards the house instead.

The house appeared to be empty, no light shone from any of its windows and it was as quiet and still as the unsettling, dense air around them. But in spite of the eeriness of the place, the portion of the house's façade that was visible through the gloom looked very well kept.

Yusuke and Kuwabara stood at the door and at the latter's signal, they went in.

The interior of the house in the forest looked very much like that of the Aramata residence. A long hallway leading from room to room lay before them and once again, after Kuwabara assured Yusuke that he does not feel any other being's presence in the house, they flicked their flashlights on and they began exploring.

They entered each room they passed by, searching for anything that might tell them something about the house owner, but the rooms were empty. It was very strange because every piece of furniture, although few, were well organized and clean—someone was keeping the house that way but they couldn't find any personal belongings that would indicate that a person does live there.

As the two continued to look around the house, they gradually believed that it must have been abandoned, recently from the looks of it. However, when Yusuke opened a closet in one of the remaining rooms, he was able to find a lone black kimono hanging inside it.

"This looks familiar…" Yusuke's eyebrows met, turning the kimono so he could study it better.

Kuwabara stood behind him and he easily identified the apparel. "Hey, isn't that the uniform those temple guys are wearing?" He asked.

"Yeah, it is."

"Does that mean that the owner of this house is one of them?"

"Could be, but which one of them?" Yusuke wondered as his memories raced back to the time they were in the Utagawa temple that morning, reviewing the faces of the temple guides he saw and discerning if one of them had looked dubious.

But before either of them could start assuming who it was, they felt the house move beneath their feet and the floorboards from the hallway outside creaked repeatedly.

Yusuke turned his flashlight off and he edged against the wall to hide but Kuwabara remained standing in the middle of the room as though he was in shock, the light beam from his flashlight was aimed directly at the translucent walls and into the hallway.

_What are you doing? _Yusuke mouthed and Kuwabara slowly crouched down behind the table infront of him. The low table did so little to hide his tall stature.

Yusuke listened intently, his curiosity and his natural reckless tendencies were nudging him to slam the door of the room open and face the unknown threat, but he decided to remain where he was.

The mere two minutes that ticked by stretched into what seemed like hours as the unseen danger passed through the length of the hallway and eventually disappeared into an undiscovered recess of the house. It was at this time that Kuwabara regained his ability to hasten and he moved clumsily to Yusuke's side.

"Urameshi, I just sensed something really evil. I was wrong, we're not alone in this house." He said anxiously, beads of sweat were running down his forehead. His gut was also churning badly as though something bitter was threatening to escape his mouth and he sucked in a mouthful of air to keep it down.

Yusuke couldn't see his face but he can definitely feel how freaked-out Kuwabara was. "It's that powerful?"

"No." Kuwabara gulped. "But it really really, really wants to kill people."

* * *

><p>The vicinity of the Utagawa temple looked deserted and silent enough when Botan stealthily landed on its courtyard. As she sprinted towards the entrance of the temple, she cautiously looked around, groaning to herself for her failure to realize that the temple might actually be home to a couple of psychics which could see her even in her spirit form. While she kept within the shadowy corners of the temple, she thought of how it may have been better if she had worn something dark colored, something that had a hood—like that old blue cloak she used before when she was pretending to be fortune teller to send vague mission related messages to a newly resurrected Yusuke. However, it was too late to turn back and change, she just had to be careful and hope that no one would see her.<p>

She swept pass the temple's first chamber with no problem, and she felt her heart skip with excitement. To see the things that the five monks have left behind was her main reason for coming to Houjin and to finally be able to see them might serve as the connection she was looking for so that she could fill that empty seven hundred year old past that she had recently became aware of. The monks' souls were gone, she had no one else to thank for and the least she could do was offer a silent tribute to them.

A slightly melancholic smile formed on Botan's lips as she walked on but as soon as she entered the second chamber and was once again welcomed by the towering bronze divinity, her smile faded and she glanced around; it felt as though something was behind her. A silent alarm in her brain told her she was not alone and she frantically looked for a place to hide.

As she searched for a hiding place, she thought that maybe she was being too paranoid, that the stress of keeping secrets, breaking rules, and the probable consequence of all her recent actions were getting into her that she considered pausing in the middle of the spacious room to gather herself—but the alarm in her brain was insistent and her eyes continued searching.

The second chamber didn't offer much hiding place for it was filled with nothing but numerous, dimly lit glass cases and the doorway to the third chamber was too far away, so Botan had no other choice but to momentarily summon her oar and zoom on top of the bronze divinity's head and hide there.

Botan ducked behind the divinity's head, completely concealing her from anyone below and she silently waited for someone to appear.

An entire minute passed by and Botan thought she might have really been imagining things, however, the person she sensed finally came into sight and the glow from the glass cases and the few candles at the foot of the bronze divinity revealed the person's long red hair and his stony, calm stance.

Botan's hands almost slipped from the divinity's head when she crouched even lower to hide herself. She had to supress a gasp, then control her breathing to avoid making any noise.

_What is Kurama doing here? _She thought anxiously. It was indeed difficult when she had no idea what each of the Reikai Tantei had been assigned to do for there was no way for her to avoid accidentally encountering them when she's in the middle of her own agenda.

She remained completely motionless where she was and she watched as Kurama glanced at a particular glass case on his left, then continued walking towards the entrance to the third chamber.

Botan crept around the divinity's head, lowering herself just beside its enermous ear so she could hide from Kurama as he passed by the other side of the statue.

_Where is he going? _Botan wondered and for a moment, she remained were she was, afraid that if she came down to early, Kurama might show up again and he'd see her. She waited as patiently as she could, keenly watching the third chamber's entrance for the red-head's reappearance, aware that her initial distress of seeing Kurama in the temple was slowly turning into its complete opposite. Her face reddened at her foolishness, realizing that a part of her actually liked seeing Kurama there.

Botan rolled her eyes and feeling absolutely ridiculous, she drove the happy feelings away, reminding herself that Kurama's presence in the temple was immensely unfavorable for her.

Like a wide-eyed cat waiting for its prey, Botan clung on to the nook of the bronze divinity's neck. She was completely hidden from anyone who would be coming in from the temple's third chamber, however, she will easily be seen by anyone who would walk in through the front doors. She was in this position when she heard heavy footsteps behind her and she froze, the muscles of her back tensed as she realized how stupidly exposed she was and also because she knew who it was who had just arrived.

"Who's there?" Rokuro's voice resounded throughout the temple and the certainty that she had already been discovered fled Botan's mind. Why would Rokuro say _Who's there _if he can clearly see her there on the divinity's shoulder? And why was he pointing his flashlight towards the entrance of the third chamber?

Even if she did not want to see Rokuro's face again, Botan turned her head and looked down at the temple guide. She stared at his severe face and confirmed that he was blind to her presence.

"Who's there?" Rokuro repeated the question and Botan saw him advance. "Show yourself!"

Curiously, Botan glanced back at where he was pointing his light and at that instance, she felt a surge of demonic energy that felt heavy in her chest; she saw thin mist creep from the third chamber, she heard the crackle of electricity fill the room as resoundingly as Rokuro's roar had been, and a few minutes later, those eerily familiar spectacle gave way to a silver demon fox, who's piercing golden eyes were looking straight at an identified target.

Even in her spirit form, Botan felt dreadfully cold. Kurama was in his pure demonic form, he was Yoko, and right infront of him was Rokuro, a human who apparently does not have the slightest trace of enhanced spiritual energy that's enough to sense a death deity's presence. It doesn't take a genius to know what's going to happen next and Botan can't do anything but pray hard not to witness bloodshed. _Of all the temple guards in that place, why did it have to be the one Kurama obviously despise?_

Yoko Kurama walked forward and Botan carefully lifted herself on top of the divinity's head where she can see everything without being seen herself. From her vantage point, she saw the mixture of awe and fear on Rokuro's face and despite all the unpleasant things that had occurred whenever the temple guide was around, Botan could not help but worry for the human's safety at that moment.

Botan stared at Yoko's form to quickly consider how likely it was that he would actually attack; she knew how terribly annoyed the red-head Kurama was at Rokuro, how he had wanted to confront him earlier when he showed up at the Aramata house.

As she looked upon the silver demon, Botan noticed something glimmer at his side, Rokuro did too.

"You're here to steal the dagger!" Rokuro yelled, purposefully, Botan supposed, so that he can signal everyone else in the temple that someone had broken in. After he declared this, Botan saw Rokuro turn to check a glass case on his left; it was the same one that Kurama had glanced at a while ago. There, Botan saw that the dagger on Yoko's side and the one in the case are the same.

Rokuro's eyebrows furrowed for a moment as he tried to understand why there are two of the same dagger in the room. As he figured out that the dagger the demon was holding was fake and that his plan might have been to swap it with the original, he felt a strong gush of wind sweep beside him and he found himself standing face to face with the demon fox.

They are almost of the same height but Yoko had a way of making himself appear more taller, stronger, more formidable. Even though their eyes were leveled, Yoko had a way of looking down at the temple guide, making him feel smaller and weak.

He could smell Rokuro's fear, and though stealing the dagger was his priority, he could not pass the opportunity of playing with his prey. He would not kill him, but that preference can always change.

Botan held her breath and she tried to maintain her cool as the scene below ensues. It would have been the best time to leave the second chamber while the demon fox was distracted but she couldn't just leave Kurama. She did not want to be discovered but if the brewing conflict below her escalates, she would have to show herself and stop the two. She doesn't know what she'll be able to do exactly but surely, even a demon fox could listen to reason—_he_ was still Kurama.

"Tell me…" Botan heard Yoko speak and she strained her ears to catch what he was trying to say. "Are you so afraid at this very moment that you can do nothing more but stand there and stare at me?"

Rokuro's face contorted into a very unbecoming scowl. The soft light from the candles and the glass cases was making it worse. He was performing his hourly rounds when he thought he saw a shadowy figure pass the corner of his eye and he followed it. When he got to the second chamber, convinced that everything was as it always was and that he merely needed to rest, he caught a slight movement beyond the bronze statue and he demanded that it shows itself. He expected some juvenile tourist who glorified on petty vandalism and shoplifting to emerge from the next room but instead a demon appeared from the dark and he admitted that he was surprised. If panic did strike him, he discarded it with lightning fast haste; he'd seen a demon far more intimidating before.

"I am not afraid of you. I know your kind. I am not some witless fool who would be scared off by a dainty fox demon!" Rokuro declared venomously.

From Botan's hiding place, she could only see Yoko's back so she was not able to see how he reacted to Rokuro's chide.

"Dainty?" Botan heard Yoko say and he said it so coldly that she knew he did not appreciate how he was portrayed. "You do not know our kind very well."

Rokuro sneered. "You're the thieving kind!" He spat furiously and Botan saw his hand dove to his side. Next thing she knew, the temple guide had a gun pointed at Yoko's head.

Botan gasped, loud enough that she knew it couldn't have escaped Yoko's sensitive ears. However, he appeared to be too occupied to give notice.

Rokuro's devious smile widened as he felt triumphant; having been able to place a demon at the mercy of his gun. "So? Who's scared now?" He said in a self-assured tone.

Yoko did not move an inch. He had never liked guns and having one pointed at him was only giving him more excuse to cause fatal damage to the bearer of the weapon.

"I dare you." Yoko quietly said. "Pull the trigger and let's see what happens."

_What? Has he gone mad? _Botan thought frantically. She was already dying to get down from her perch or at least say something. _Kurama… what are you trying to do?_

"I'm not here to grant any death wish… but if you fail to answer my questions, your brain will decorate this chamber. Why do you want to take the dagger?"

"Because it's pretty and I like pretty things." He said somberly. Yoko's answer was downright silly but he said it so darkly that anyone who heard him might take what he said as the actual plain truth, however, it had only tested Rokuro's patience and his grip on the gun became tighter.

"Shut up." Rokuro growled.

Something inside Yoko snapped. Aside from guns, he abhorred the sense of assumed dominance by someone he had no respect to; a very few would get away with telling him to shut up. He remained impassive though; control will always have to be his.

"If you do like pretty things, the dagger will not be first on your list. Answer me! Why the dagger?" Rokuro continued.

"Why do you insist on knowing my motive? What is it about this precious knife that you are so worried about?" Yoko asked meaningfully. If the dagger was not that important, if it was just another artifact, if there was no hidden significance about it then the temple guide should not have bothered asking his reasons for taking it; the temple guide would have simply fired his gun and alarmed the entire temple of a successful theft. There was something about the way the temple guide had proceeded with handling things and Yoko could read a trace of concern on Rokuro's expression that told him he knew something else about the dagger, and that he wanted to know what he knows.

Rokuro did not answer his question and it only confirmed that there really was a story behind the dagger aside from it being an attraction in the temple. Keeping quiet about something means there's something to hide.

Yoko stepped back and he pulled out the fake dagger that he took from the souvenir shop. "You make very good replicas…" He said, taking his eyes away from Rokuro to scan the replica of the dagger in his hands. "… it's so good that if I take this and replace it with the one in the glass case, no one would notice the difference."

Rokuro gritted his teeth. He was right. "You may be the most idiotic thief I have ever encountered. Why are you telling me your plans?" He asked arrogantly.

"Because even if I do, you can't do anything about it." Yoko answered and he walked towards the glass case that was holding the original dagger.

Botan saw Rokuro's eyes flash with anger then he followed Yoko with his gun and pulled the trigger. Botan almost fell from the statue when both her hands flew to her mouth to stifle a scream. However, she did not hear any gunshots, all she heard was a scream of pain and when she peered down to see what was happening, she saw Rokuro on his knees with his hand holding the gun held out infront of him. She grimaced in disgust when she saw that there seemed to be thin, snake-like things crawling under his skin.

"Be quiet." Yoko said and a vine that suddenly sprouted from nowhere wrapped around Rokuro's mouth, muffling his frenzied screaming.

Spirits aren't immune to emotions nor to some physical sensations and Botan could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Yoko's cruelty was so evident; who else would be responsible for those crawling things in Rokuro's arm but him. The temple guide was not a very good person by general standard but must he really be put under such pain?

From her mouth, Botan placed her hands over her ears. Even though the vines were preventing Rokuro from making a ruckus, it did not completely restrict him from making desperate, subdued cries that aren't pleasant to hear. Botan shut her eyes and laid her head on the cold bronze; she had no desire to see what was going on below anymore and her initial plan of interfering when things get serious also flew out of the window. She was scared and she was no match to an obviously furious Yoko.

As Rokuro writhed on the floor, Yoko switched the daggers without tripping the temple's alarm system and after hiding the real dagger under his clothes, he went back to face Rokuro.

"That plant under your skin was called dainty once. It blooms beautiful white flowers just before winter starts and it was an ideal flower for desperate professions of love… However it has a nasty habit of digging into a warm blooded creature's skin and merging with its blood vessels, causing them to die in pain or blood loss."

Rokuro only screamed as a response when the plant in his arm receded in Yoko's command.

"You're lucky I don't feel like killing humans tonight." He said bitterly as though he did not approve of his own decision.

Behind the statue's head, Botan could still hear everything even though she covered her ears and after catching what Yoko had said, she was somehow able to breathe easy. Slowly, she raised her head and peeked from her hiding place to see how everything was progressing below.

The vine around Rokuro's mouth loosened and in a mixture of fear and humiliation, he quickly tried to stand up and get away. However, as soon as he got back on his feet, a powerful right hand closed around his neck.

Yoko's entire mien was nothing but composed, his face was expressionless, but his golden eyes revealed the wrathful storm he wanted to unleash upon the human before him. Behind his golden eyes were the rage and contempt he felt against the temple guide since the first time he saw him. The image of him, speaking with Botan, touching her arm, in that very chamber where they were standing now was so clear in his memory that the familiar gnawing sensation in his chest was causing his grip around Rokuro's neck to become tighter.

"The plant was for making a point…" Yoko whispered. "But this-" He left his sentence hanging and with one hand, he sent the temple guide flying across the room and he hit the bronze statue with an impact so great that he landed on the floor unconscious. _That is for touching my woman. _Yoko thought, finishing his statement to himself.

The sound made by the blunt collision of flesh and bone to metal sickened Botan and as she was simply behind the statue the temple guide hit, she completely felt the severity of the impact travel through her own body and distressingly thought of how slim Rokuro's chance of surviving that attack would be.

She was out of breath by what she had seen, it was as though someone had hit her with an enormous hammer in the chest and her rib cage strained to keep her from breathing harshly. She had seen Yoko Kurama fight before, but it had always been with a just amount of viciousness and there's always a reason for those brutal battles—one of them being his opponents were equally cruel. But now, he may have just murdered a human and for what? Botan couldn't find an acceptable reason for it.

Amidst her confusion and fear, something else was wrenching her heart, something that closely felt like sadness or disappointment. Toward herself or Kurama, she doesn't know, what she's sure of was that Kurama seemed too far out of her reach now.

Botan shook her head, mentally tugging herself back into what was more important than the palpable feelings that were causing her fingers to tremble. She had to escape that chamber for she had artifacts linked to her past life to find—and she had to flee from Kurama.

* * *

><p>From the temple guide's limp body, Yoko directed his eyes at the head of the statue which looked upon him with knowing eyes; a lifeless witness to what he has done. But Yoko knew that those empty eyes weren't the only spectator of his actions; he was certain that he heard something there moments ago.<p>

The thrill of causing torment, the elating sensation of a helpless body in his hand was still running through him and catching the not-so-quiet watcher would be a perfect way to drain him of his rage.

Yoko quietly walked around the bronze divinity, his eyes never leaving its head and as silent as a butterfly landing softly on a blade of grass, he sprung from the floor and grasped the head of the statue with clawed fingers. His eyes narrowed at the metallic coils that adorned the back of the statue's head.

Slowly, his restlessness ebbed and from silvery and imposing, he turned back to his red-headed, gentler form.

There was no one behind the statue.

* * *

><p>Botan's pupils widened at the stark, hollow darkness that surrounded her. She blinked, hoping that it would somehow change her view but everything remained pitch black. She decided to close her eyes. There really was no point about wanting to see what's around her because she knew where she was. She's inside the bronze divinity's hollow head.<p>

It was as though something pulled her inside the statue's head—and just in time too because Yoko was a heartbeat away from finding her.

Botan silently floated there, biting her lower lip it almost bled as her anxiety soared even higher. She tried to calm herself and smile it off but her shoulders jerked in surprise when she heard a clang somewhere infront of her. She could only assume that it was Kurama who had pounced where she was perched just seconds ago; she could feel it was him and she hoped he doesn't sense her.

Much like the unseen force that pulled her inside her new hiding place, something was tugging Botan to reveal herself to Yoko. A part of her wanted to soothe him, calm him down like what she had done when he encountered Rokuro at the Aramata house; at the same time she wanted to reprimand him for what he has done—But then, the vivid memory of Yoko's earlier aggression was like a heavy chain which anchored her in that dark void and she stayed where she was, listening, waiting.

The seconds that passed after that startling sound were grueling and Botan was torn with indecisiveness as the seconds became minutes; she had no idea if she should leave the head or wait for a few minutes more. But what was she afraid of really? Was it the thought of being found out? The arduous task of explaining why she lied? The ominous prospect of being punished by Koenma or King Enma himself? Was it because she's simply terrified to her bones of Kurama right now? Was he going to hurt her if he finds her? He wouldn't… would he?

Unanswerable questions danced around Botan's head as she impatiently waited for the right moment to come out.

After an estimated forty minutes, Botan finally decided to face whatever awaits her outside the divinity's head.

She floated upwards, emerging like a wary blue haired mermaid from swirling golden waters right on top of the statue's head. She looked around before floating the entirety of her intangible body from the statue and found that she was finally alone.

Botan sighed in relief and she sped off to the third chamber with the help of her oar. But she stopped when she recalled that there was a lifeless body at the foot of the bronze statue she just flew from. She hurriedly turned back, worry etched on her pallid face. She couldn't bear to imagine being the person who'd turn Kurama in for killing a human.

Gripping the oar tightly against her, she cautiously floated near Rokuro.

The temple guide was lying prone on the cold wooden floor, his head turned away from Botan and a scarlet line ran from his temple, tracing the side of his face and his jaw line; a red bruise was starting to form at the corner of his left eye. Despite how he had been thrown like a weightless doll against the metal figure, he appeared to be alive and his breathing pattern may just be a tad more normal than Botan's. The remnants of the pain he suffered was still marked on his face and arm though and Botan wasn't sure if the temple guide had suffered any broken bones or some sort of internal breathing. For a moment, the healer in Botan kicked in and she assessed Rokuro's life energy without touching him; she smiled faintly when she sensed that it was alright and intact—intact enough that his soul had not left his body even though he'd been knocked out.

_Thank goodness… _Botan thought and although feeling slightly out cold herself, she swiftly left the second chamber to continue her search for the monks' unrevealed exhibit, all the while thinking the question, _Why do that to him, Kurama?_

* * *

><p>Yusuke eyed the black kimono from the open closet infront of him, he then stood up, snatched the kimono from its hanger and stuffed it inside his bag. It was too dark where they were and they might find something in that kimono tomorrow which would help them close the case.<p>

He turned to Kuwabara who stood up as well and with a simple nod they made a mutual decision to pursue whatever it was that was haunting the house.

They exited the room and paced the hallway with heightened caution, their spiritual energy flowing more freely. Let their presence be known, let the enemy come to them, they were never the type to play hide and seek anyways.

"Hey, Urameshi." Kuwabara warned as he pointed to a massive stone wall to their right. It looked out of place with everything inside the house but it wasn't the reason why it caught Kuwabara's attention. The same nauseating feeling he felt when the house moved earlier was emanating from the wall, like a stench that was both repulsive and intriguing.

The tip of Yusuke's right forefinger glowed, unlike Kuwabara who's experiencing the pulse of spiritual energy from behind the wall like a rollercoaster ride gone bad, what he can sense behind the wall was a cold and abrasive aura that was too unpleasant for his liking. With his other hand he tried to push the wall to see if it would move. Kuwabara summoned his spirit sword, ready to lunge at whatever would come out behind the wall.

The wall did move when Yusuke pushed it forward. A mechanism from the adjacent walls hummed resonantly and it pulled the ten inch wall down, revealing a spacious candle lit room.

Expecting some sort of beastly creature to attack them, it became slightly difficult for the two to decide where to focus their eyes when they were met with silence and diffused amber light. In the end, their attention was caught by a movement at the center of the room.

There was woman, reclining against a pile of brocade fabrics and luxurious fur in the middle of that hidden lair. Her back was turned toward Kuwabara and Yusuke and her long black hair flowed on the floor, much like the expensive fabrics around her. Her ivory white skin glowed warmly as the dancing flames of the candle around her illuminated her half-clothed figure.

The woman doesn't seem to notice them and she lazily examined a scroll, raising it up with one graceful arm.

Kuwabara was caught in the trance but Yusuke was not.

"Hey lady!" Yusuke's ill-mannered yell tore through the silence of the house and Kuwabara gawked at him.

The lady remained indifferent to their presence.

"Darn it! I'm not going to go through this again!" He yelled once more, recalling the time when he was trying to make the memory they followed that morning talk. Yusuke marched inside the room, intent to use physical force and not just his voice to get answers but it was as though the entire wooden floor was swept from under him when he stepped pass the now concealed wall and he plunged into freezing, colloidal water.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara screamed watching Yusuke's head bob from the wooden floor. He couldn't understand what had happened because there were no trapdoors anywhere, even where Yusuke had fallen. Well polished wooden planks lined the entire room and yet, as Yusuke raised his hand above his head, he can see the floor ripple as though it was made of water.

"Shit!" Yusuke cursed as he pulled his arm out and caught Kuwabara's.

This finally warranted a response from the reclining woman, although she still did not bother facing them.

"A demon and a human. The demon gets in trouble and the human comes to his aid… What a touching story that has been repeated so many times in history…" The woman said monotonously. Suddenly, the white scroll she was holding high bled crimson red as though it has been wounded.

Yusuke and Kuwabara stared at it wide eyed.

The woman began to rise and as she did, the fabrics and clothes that were scattered everywhere in the room sunk from the floor surface and the wooden planks disappeared revealing a crystal clear pool lined with human skeletons. Toothless human skeletons.

Yusuke stared down at a skull underneath his sneakers and growled furiously. He pulled himself out of the water with Kuwabara's help and landed back behind the hidden wall.

They found their perp.

They looked up at the woman who was now facing them with an annoyingly innocent smile on her face. A mere drape was tied around her waist to cover her lower body and covering her chest were countless necklaces made of white beads—or so Yusuke and Kuwabara thought.

The light around the room shifted momentarily and the two saw that instead of beads or shells, the necklaces were actually made from thousands of teeth, and nobody needed to strain a neuron to figure out where those came from.

"That's disgusting!" Kuwabara screamed, mentally noting a second reason to throw up. He tore his eyes away from the woman's gruesome jewelry and placed it on her face instead. His jaw drop and he pointed at her which the woman returned with a scowl. "You're Tamamo Utagawa!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Please accept my apologies for the looooooooooooong delay., (T.T) It's been more than two months since I last updated that I even forgot my password, *sigh*

Long story short: New Job+Lack of Time Management+A million other distractions = FAILURE to update my baby (0_0)

Anyways, once again thanks to all those who are still following this story!

Thanks **majo18**! (^_^)

_Great deity of time management, grant me some time managing powers will ya. _


	16. Chapter 16 Pandora's Box I

Chapter XVI

**Pandora's Box I**

Gone was the softness on the woman's lovely features; her lips curled down into a spiteful frown and her purple eyes burned with scalding hostility. She stepped back reflexively; the bleeding scroll she held moments ago suddenly had a life of its own it and it slithered protectively around her. _How is this possible? _ The mysterious female asked vehemently.

"Are you serious?" Yusuke asked in disbelief as he aimed a Reigun at the woman infront of them. "Isn't she supposed to be dead?"

"Gaah! I don't know!" Kuwabara said confusingly, brandishing his spirit sword to defend himself from the woman's likely attack. He thought of the passages from the Houjin documents, tried to recall if there was something there that accounted Tamamo's death but couldn't. The painting of Tamamo Utagawa in the old document was clear enough though and to Kuwabara, the lady infront of them looked exactly like her.

The woman glowered at the spirit weapons held by the two intruders and despite her alarm, she could not help but ask a very important question. "How were you able to cross the threshold of this house?" She asked, her voice was like a contained ball of fire waiting to be unleashed.

"Lady, give me a break." Yusuke said impatiently. "We're not here to talk."

The woman's elegant fingers tensed, arching like rigid talons and she hissed at how she had been addressed. _How is this possible? _She asked again, unable to bring herself to believe what she was seeing. _The barrier has never been crossed by anyone but normal humans before, and yet… __Was the barrier not strong enough or are these men armed with new tricks we weren't prepared for?_ She thought furiously_._ Her lair had not been disturbed for years and years that she thought her refuge had merely been unluckily crossed by unsuspecting humans, (the other one tainted by the Makai) that she did not feel alarmed at first, but now, realizing that they were more than what they looked like, finally becoming aware of the strength of their spirit energy—she growled inwardly. Only their deaths will put her at ease.

Her gaze momentarily landed at the raven haired teen who had her at spirit-gunpoint. The human who reeked of demonic spirit; the unlikely hybrid perfection who appeared to have chosen the human side. She then glanced at the taller human and considered him. There was nothing remarkable about his appearance, but he uttered that name which only a few would know.

Her eyes widened at the realization of something else. "Who sent you?"

Yusuke's eyebrows furrowed, then he grinned despite the gravity of their standoff. He could sense that the woman was suddenly wary of them. She was at ease a while ago, even when they discovered her lair and wielded their weapons; she only flared up when Kuwabara called her Tamamo Utagawa. He doesn't really care who the particular woman was, what her name was or if she's indeed that despicable female megalomaniac in the Houjin documents—His only concern was what she had done, or what she had been doing for the past years. If she was Tamamo Utagawa, then he'll gladly take that as a bonus.

"Koenma sent us." Kuwabara answered briefly. He couldn't help but glance at the bleached human skeletons at the bottom of the placid pool then back at the woman's necklaces. Were the victims killed before their teeth were pulled out or was it the other way around? Maybe he shouldn't think about it too much.

"King Enma." The woman whispered, her mouth barely moving as she said the name of the illustrious ruler of the spirit world, mishearing what Kuwabara said and being too secluded and protected to know that the King was practically succeeded by his son.

"You are Tamamo Utagawa, aren't you?" Kuwabara dared ask.

"King Enma sends children now to rid this world of what he dislikes, I see." She said, disregarding Kuwabara's question. "Where are his soldiers? The ones who scoured this town hundreds of years ago and burned it to the ground?" She bellowed venomously.

Her scream reverberated through the house like a colossal beast's howl and before the resonance of her voice faded completely, putrid steam started rising from the pool and its glass like surface bubbled, disturbing the stacked human remains at the bottom of it. Yusuke and Kuwabara backed away a bit and through the sulfuric haze, they saw how line after line of inscriptions started appearing on the woman's alabaster skin like fresh bloody tattoos.

"Do you have any idea what happened to the last soldiers King Enma has sent to find and capture me?" She asked and her voice started to deepen into something so unlike her. The house began to tremble once more, wood planks and cement everywhere began to snap and crumble and the fierce, searing water from the pool rose and crept beyond the boundary of the hidden wall.

Briefly sidetracked by the sound of destruction around them and by the smell of sulfur that was filling their noses, Yusuke and Kuwabara failed to avoid the two large objects which suddenly sprung from the water. It was hurled at them and a shower of acid droplets sprayed all over the place sizzling everything it touches.

Both members of the Reikai Tantei were thrown off their feet and Kuwabara struggled to remove the heavy, smoking heap that hit him across the chest. When he did it was only then that he noticed that what was chucked at him was a particularly large skeletal remain which was still wearing what remained of what its clothes had been; a single shoulder plate and a torn gray outfit which held its bones together. He stood up and automatically looked at its jaws and found that it has a complete set of teeth. Kuwabara looked at Yusuke who was grabbing his own set skeletons off of him.

They stared at the remains and saw a red circle on the left rib area on each of the skeletons' garb. It may have been an older design of the insignia worn by old Reikai soldiers but there was no doubt that the two dead men were from the Spirit World.

"Preserving those trophies had been excessively difficult when I desire nothing more but turn them into dust! But the looks on your faces are worth it… "

"Urameshi she's getting away!" Kuwabara suddenly yelled. Although he couldn't see through the thick fog that has already filled the hidden room, he could detect the woman's waning spiritual presence.

"The hell she's not!" Yusuke said and he blasted a spirit gun through the gray mist, enough to blow up the entire room and whoever was in it.

The attack managed to clear the mist but the room was now empty.

Before they could wonder where the woman had escaped, Yusuke and Kuwabara heard an ear deafening blast and they felt the very ground in which the entire house stood heave and cave in. Next thing they knew, gravity was pulling them down the collapsed hidden room which was now a bubbling soup of human skeletons, wood beams, stones and debris. When they thought it couldn't get any worst, a barrier like fence appeared at the entrance of the room which they were now slowly falling into—the same Kekkai-like barrier which Kuwabara destroyed had been deployed at their feet. They could hear it crackle amidst the other noise as though it was eagerly waiting to touch their skin.

"Gaah! I don't want to end up like Botan!" Kuwabara yelled, gripping on the now vertical floor and slipping miserably.

Infuriated by the mysterious woman's escape, Yusuke kicked his foot through the wood planks, creating a hole where he can set his foot in to prevent himself from falling into the net. With his fist he punched a hole above his head and he started climbing up.

Kuwabara copied him but he used his spirit sword to strike the floor instead.

They had just lifted themselves a couple of feet away from the barrier when everything above them rapidly gave way. The wooden floor they were scaling deteriorated and the two of them plummeted into the boiling deathtrap.

* * *

><p>Botan jumped down from her oar upon reaching the center of the temple's third chamber and looked around. Still distracted by what she had previously witnessed, she frantically searched her pockets for the psychic spyglass, dropping it on the floor when she finally took it out.<p>

She sighed hopelessly as she picked it up. _It's all over… Rokuro's fine… Whatever Kurama's reason for doing that… you must leave him to his actions, you don't really know why he did it… you don't really know him… _Botan told herself and the last few words she thought of brought a tender pain to her heart. After being acquainted with Kurama for more than three years, she fancied she already knew everything about him but apparently she was wrong. Botan wanted to scream but since she couldn't, she was left to stomp her foot and curl her free hand into a fist, snapping herself out of an imminent melancholic interval. _Focus Botan! You've got things to do! _She reprimanded herself and tightly holding the psychic spyglass with uneasy fingers, she held it up on her right eye and began scoping the place for a hidden room or a concealed hallway.

She first directed the spyglass towards the long drapes that lined the walls on her left and slowly she turned to inspect the rest of it. There was nothing but plain brickwork there so she stopped to look at what was behind one of the two door entrance in the chamber but all she saw was a dark passageway that lead somewhere behind the temple. Botan continued combing through the area, walking about the chamber silently and thoroughly checking every possible spot where another room may be hidden, a room large enough to house an entirely new exhibit.

It was around two in the morning when Botan's search soon took her somewhere near the temple's gift shop and passing by it she found another doorway. For some reason she suddenly felt excited about what she was going to find behind the particular door so even when she was about ten more steps away from it, she already had the psychic spyglass held up as she hastily walked towards the said door.

Through the small circular glass, it was revealed that the doorway led to a grand room which contained wooden crates, glass cases, and various other objects that were in the process of being unpacked.

Botan took a deep breath and she dove into the room.

Like the temple's first chamber, the glass cases inside the new room were lit as well and it offered Botan enough light to see the place entirely. With wide eager eyes she first glided towards the long table that was set against the wall and found numerous partially unrolled scrolls laid on it. On the other side of the room, a number of coffin-like cases stood and five of those contained headless mannequins, clothed in ancient ceremonial attires.

Botan stood before those regalia and she read the labels that were placed at the foot of the caskets; inscribed on each was the name of the person who owned the antique blue and green garments:

_Naoyuki, Asao, Tatsuaki, Otohiko, Bunmei…._

Botan lifted hear head and gazed back at the clothes, unsure on how to react for those were the names of the five monks she had been reciting over and over in her head yesterday.

She has found it. She found the exhibit she was looking for.

For a moment Botan just stood there, she then turned around, gazing at everything she could set her eyes on, suddenly feeling both empty and overwhelmed. The moment felt quite strange to her. Initially, she had envisioned herself jumping joyously once she found the exhibit but now she seemed to have lost the energy to do so. A simple "Yey!" did not even cross her mind.

Her main reason for coming to the town of Houjin has been finally put to a close, but oddly enough, she couldn't quite place herself where she thought she would be once she found the exhibit. She felt so detached, so lost. She thought she'd be happy, or at least satisfied that she completed her wayward mission, but why wasn't she?

Botan sighed, realizing the answer to her own confusing questions.

It was because she had no memory of any of the things that surrounded her now. She had merely heard the story of her past, knew it was true and had been hurt by the sadness of it all but since she had no memory of it, there wasn't exactly any definite feelings that can be appeased.

She stepped back as she tried to just let everything sink in, however the ambivalent feelings were just too great to discern and she ended up losing to discontent.

_So all of this was for… just this? _Botan asked herself then she looked back at the monks' clothes.

Her eyebrows met and she sighed harshly. _No! Absolutely not! _She suddenly told herself. _With all that I have gone through to get here, there is no way I'd just forget all those just because I'm not satisfied with what I've found. _Botan thought and picking herself up from her sad reflections, she sat down infront of the five caskets, closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer for the inexistent souls of the monks who had worn those clothes that were on display.

After solemnly thanking the five monks in her prayer and bowing slightly before one of the most important personal things they have managed to leave behind, Botan stood up and she started walking about the room in a decidedly livelier manner.

Being that Botan's character was not the type which held on to pessimism as though it was life itself, she easily distracted herself away from the thoughts of her unmet expectations as she began going through the monks' artifacts. Aside from scrolls and books, she found gardening tools inside an unopened crate and she automatically wondered who of the five monks were fond of gardening. She also saw some old vials that contained well preserved herbs and a weapons rack which held a single, rusty spear.

With the psychic spyglass back in her pocket and completely forgotten, Botan continued searching through boxes and crates, with a little intention of taking some sort of souvenir from the exhibit, something that was small enough that no one would notice its disappearance. She thought of taking one of the vials, but there was only about less than twenty of those and they were already on display, surely all of those had already been catalogued.

As Botan opened another crate, she suddenly felt like she was being watched and she turned, however, the only things she saw that were close to a living thing in appearance were the five headless mannequins which were clothed with the monks' regalia.

Botan smiled awkwardly. _Why do those uniforms look creepy all of a sudden?_ She asked but nonetheless she continued opening the crate infront of her.

What she saw inside made her almost drop the lid of the box on the floor.

Inside the wooden box were two kimonos. The first one had a dark blue color with faded red and white dyed designs. It had small measurements that would have fitted a six year old girl and right beside it was another kimono which struck Botan with so much familiarity for it looked exactly like the pink kimono she was wearing at that very moment.

Botan reached for it but knew that without touching it or even putting it on, the particular garment would fit her perfectly.

"Oh my goodness…" She whispered as she took out the kimono from the box. It unfolded delicately before her and she held it against herself.

_This is… mine._

To feel nostalgic when one is unaware of what had occurred in the past was surely irrational but Botan felt exactly that. Melancholy crept through her like a flood and although she had as good as told herself earlier that she would never allow herself to give in to dejection, she felt the tears sting her eyes.

In an effort to fight off the emotions, she imagined how stupid she'd look, how absurd and how laughable it would all be once she recalls the present occasion in the near future but it only seemed to make it worst.

She was at the verge of scolding herself once more when she suddenly heard someone call out from outside the room.

"Aki! Tatsuaki!" Came a man's voice and Botan frantically spun around to the direction of the sound. Panic struck her like a lightning bolt that she did not notice the kimono in her arms had disappeared.

"Tatsuaki! Where are you?" The man's voice echoed again and Botan hurriedly turned back to the crate to put back the kimono inside.

But the crate was nowhere to be found.

It was only then that Botan noticed that the kimono she was holding earlier was no longer in her hands nor on the floor, and that the said cemented floor she was standing on was being washed off, was being replaced by mahogany colored wood planks, and that everything around her was slowly disappearing as though someone was washing off paint from a canvass.

"What is hap-?" Botan said shrilly and she had to cover her mouth with both her hands to contain her alarm. She then dabbed her eyes with the sleeves of her kimono to dry her unshed tears and to make sure that she was not seeing things; to her disbelief, everything around her was indeed dissolving.

Someone was outside the room and something strange was happening with the walls and the entire exhibit. She needed to leave, now!

Assuming her intangible spirit form, she summoned her oar so she could fly and escape but her oar did not appear. With no time to be confused at the sudden glitch in her death deity powers, she decided to glide out of the room instead but she fell on her knees when gravity pulled her back on the floor.

_Oh you have to be kidding me! _She whined inwardly. The room was still swirling in a mixture of browns and reds that it felt nauseating to watch.

Botan quickly got back on her feet and since she can't fly nor glide, she threw herself underneath one of the tables at the far corner of the room which, unlike everything else, has managed to retain its solid form. From there, Botan waited for the room to stop moving.

It took a while before everything appeared static again and from the looks of it, the crates, the glass cases and the other tables have now been replaced with several bookshelves. Botan lied under the table as still as she could and as she waited for the owner of the calling voice to stop yelling or get close to where she was, she wondered why she wasn't able to summon her oar or at least glide a few feet from the ground. A bit scared that something might be wrong with her, she warily swiped her forefinger on one of the table's legs and was relieved to find that she was still as intangible as air.

Was it because she was too distraught that she was not able to channel her abilities properly? But it wasn't like she needed to concentrate to summon her oar— for her, and for every single death deity in Spirit World, gliding or flying was as simple as lifting a hand, or taking a step, nothing special at all.

_What just happened? _Botan wondered and as she tried to figure it out, a stream of sunlight slowly glided through the floor and she watched it with wide disbelieving eyes. There still had to be three or four more hours before daylight but why was she staring at a spot of sunlight on the floor?

_Did I lose track of time? Did I—_

A pair of heavy feet suddenly landed infront of Botan, severing her train of thought and drawing out a loud scream from her.

* * *

><p>It was a close call, but both of them were pretty sure they weren't going to die just because they almost fell into something very similar to the fiery pits of hell. They may be young but Yusuke and Kuwabara weren't your average teenagers and like a scene from old war movies, they emerged from the ruins of the house in the middle of the forest, unscathed and in one piece but extremely infuriated at the loss of their quarry.<p>

"Where do you think she ran off to?" Kuwabara asked as he pulled on the strap of his bag that was caught on one of the house's wooden beams.

Yusuke did not answer and he directed his somber expression at the charred, steaming remains of the house and was briefly reminded by the image of the secluded houses and burnt shrines he saw on the video tape Koenma sent along with the Houjin documents. The houses were the woman's hideouts then, and she could have fled to another one at that moment.

_How big is this town anyway? And where do we start looking? _Yusuke asked himself then he turned back to Kuwabara.

"You sure you can't detect her anywhere near?" He said irritably.

Kuwabara did not take offense and he answered him with a disappointed sigh. "No. She's too fast. It's like she disappeared into thin air."

The two of them looked up at the night sky, following the line of smoke that was coming from the demolished house. Sooner or later someone would be coming their way to find out what was happening there and they should both leave the place.

"If I were some weird, teeth collecting chick, where would I go?" Kuwabara grumbled to himself and although not in the same context, Yusuke thought the same. The bloody characters that appeared on the woman's skin did not look like debilitating injuries, it was more like a confirmation of her powers, and speaking of powers, it didn't look like she had a lot if she had to spend most of her time hiding, or employing trickery and distractions and then running away when the chances of defeat were high.

"We should just get going. I'm pretty sure she hasn't gone far." Yusuke said.

Kuwabara nodded and not really knowing where to go, they let their feet lead the way and they disappeared deeper into the dark forest.

* * *

><p>Botan edged even more underneath the table, wishing really badly to turn into something less conspicuous; like a rock for example, or a speck of dust. But she was as she was, intangible but most likely very, very visible—she had lost her oar, the ability to float, there was no way she could safely assume that she was invisible.<p>

_Me and my stupid mouth! _She blamed herself as she anxiously waited for the owner of the feet to look under the table and find her.

But the legs hurried to the opposite direction, meeting another pair of feet which seemed to belong to the person who was screaming his lungs out just seconds ago.

"Tatsuaki! Where have you been? Where is Oujo-sama?"

There was a pause before the Tatsuaki person answered. "—isn't she with Asao?"

Botan's eyes grew wide. _Asao? Tatsuaki? Aren't those…? _Her wariness was suddenly replaced with a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement that she hurriedly crept out from under the table, no longer caring if she was visible or not.

"Pardon me—um—excuse me—" This string of words clumsily tumbled out of Botan's lips when she tried to speak and upon glimpsing at the clothes the two men were wearing, her ability to form a proper sentence was taken away completely.

"No she's not!" The other man answered angrily and the heated conversation between him and Tatsuaki continued as though it was just the two of them in the room, as though Botan was not standing just a few feet from them beside one of the book shelves.

Utter confusion engulfed Botan and she thought of walking forward, but she hesitated. She thought of leaving, but she hesitated on that too.

"What the heck is happening?" She screamed aloud, unable to help borrowing a bit of Yusuke's tone for her ire outburst.

Finally, the person named Tatsuaki turned and Botan's jaw dropped upon seeing his face.

He had none.

The bald faceless man ran pass her, through her, and she turned with a wide eyed expression as she watched him step on a footstool then on the table she was hiding from a while ago. He returned a scroll on top of a book case near the table then he jumped back down on the floor, crating the heavy thud that surprised her earlier.

Botan turned to the other monk, the one whose name she does not know yet and saw that he too had no face.

Botan closed her mouth and she watched them exit the room in a hurried and alarmed manner, leaving her to break down and take in what she just saw. It took her a while to say something but when she finally spoke, she spoke with her signature jubilant rapture.

"Oh my! They're memories! They're the monks' memories!" She said breathlessly. She could feel that a broad smile was forming on her lips and as she was alone, she twirled—even without her ability to fly, she felt as light as a feather.

"So that's Tatsuaki-hoshi., I wonder who that other monk is?" She tapped a forefinger on her chin. "And he mentioned Asao-hoshi too! This is so cool; just wait until Nakatsu-san hears about this!" She said merrily and giggling excitedly, she followed the two monks out of the transformed room.

Botan could've broken her neck as she turned everywhere to examine the changes that had occurred in the temple; she could not help but marvel at how different it was, how vibrant, and how powerful the monks were to have been able to manage such a feat. One of the rules, or rather, the characteristics of memories was that the person who's faceless owns the memory that plays. If two of the monk's were faceless then it meant that what was occurring around her was the memory of the two monks. Botan directed her eyes back at them, careful not to lose sight of the two monks who were still blaming each other for leaving an 'Oujo-sama' unattended.

When they arrived at the second chamber, Botan was once again forced to divert her attention to something else; the giant bronze divinity stood there, as stationary as it was seven hundred years into the future—but it didn't glimmer brilliantly as it did now, nor did it appear to be smiling down upon her graciously and knowingly.

Her eyes were subconsciously drawn at the foot of the statue as she passed by it and not finding any trace of that which had caused her to worry a few hours ago, she continued walking.

Botan ran to get closer to the two monks; the sleeve of her pink kimono billowed behind her and the smile on her face glowed like the sun.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Hey! Hey! Another Chapter **finally** done *sigh* this took a while., as always… and once again I'm really sorry for the slow update… (-_-")

Thanks for following the story **KIWIDASH, ryuukoshi, Sures1109, Lunaeclipse100, Eternal Wanderer, Obsessed Dreamer, November Ember, and AbyssTales**! (^_^)

Your favs are greatly appreciated **ReinaKitsune, KIWIDASH, ryuukoshi, Unbreakable Dream, Elle Santiago, Lunaeclipse100, draconic skysong, Isabella of the Night, Obsessed Dreamer, November Ember, AbyssTales, Springflowerangel**! (^_^)

And finally, for your awesome reviews:

**majo18**: _The diety of time management; she's hard to find :)_

**Animoon, Fiona-chan, draconic skysong, Danielle Winters and KIWIDASH:** I don't know how to express it in words so I'm just gonna describe how I felt while reading your reviews: _Imagine a random female, sitting in her cubicle., it's not allowed to browse the internet for anything not work related but since she doesn't give a damn and she has a cool supervisor, she opened her email and one by one she checked her notifications from FanFiction- she smiled, she giggled, then she looked around and saw that her friends who were sitting on either side of her had their eyebrows raised at her._

So... that said, I'm not gonna read my emails at work again. My weirdness is enough as it is, **:D**

Lastly, to my mysterious guest/intruder/alien/lurker: When I read your review I was like- (T_T). I really, really appreciate every word you said and I hope you'd continue reading this story until the end. (and yeah, your review was also one of those that I read at work)

**For those moments when I think it's not worth it,**** Thank you. :)**


	17. Chapter 17 Pandora's Box II

Chapter XVII

**Pandora's Box II**

The Utagawa temple was beautiful at its present state but it wouldn't compare at the slightest to how magnificent it was seven hundred years ago.

A pleasant cool wind greeted Botan when she stepped out of the temple and warm sunlight touched her face when she had completely gotten out of the shade. Trees with leaves of different hues sprung from either side of the previously vast and barren courtyard and as she tailed the two monks, Botan looked back to check the temple's façade and was treated to a more refined and vivid version of the Utagawa shrine. Red was its dominant color, but she couldn't have known that when she first saw it during their early morning tour yesterday because of the wear and tear it had suffered for centuries that was beyond any modern construction's ability to restore. Botan also noticed that no part of the temple was spared with a touch of gold and so the entire thing glowed like a ruby on top of that still austere land form.

Distracted by the beautiful representation of the temple, Botan was not able to catch the most recent exchange of sentiments between Tatsuaki-hoshi and the other monk; she just suddenly realized that Tatsuaki-hoshi was heading down the temple and the other one, whose face she can finally see was going somewhere else.

It was Tatsuaki-hoshi's memory which was solely playing now and though it was wise that she follows him closely, Botan hastily went infront of the nameless monk so that she could study his features and create an impression of it in her own memory.

Matching his pace, Botan studied his face and she noted a scowl on his already stern countenance. He had dark eyebrows and a pair of even darker eyes and although he seemed to only be around thirty, there were fine lines on his face which added years to his appearance. Despite his scary mien, Botan liked him.

Slowly, the nameless monk's phantom began disappearing. Botan turned and realizing that there was already quite a distance between him and Tatsuaki-hoshi, she ran towards the owner of the memory after bidding the other monk a timid goodbye.

"Oujo-sama! Oujo-sama!" Tatsuaki-hoshi was yelling this when Botan came up behind him.

From where they were, Botan could see the entirety of the town of Houjin and unlike its modern counterpart, there were no buildings to block the magnificent view and the ancient town was spread out on the vast horizon, bordered by blue green mountains and a lake.

She was almost hoping that they could stop for a second so that she could admire the view when Tatsuaki-hoshi did pause on his tracks.

"_No!"_ Botan caught him utter the word with apprehension then with lightning fast speed, she saw him jump twenty steps down the stone stairway, abandoning his leisurely stride.

"Ah! Wait for me Tatsuaki-hoshi!" Botan called out and although gliding and flying were no longer courses to take, she was not completely inept in speed. She shot from her position and followed the faceless monk, determined to keep up with him.

She was merely an arm's length away from Tatsuaki-hoshi and her feet were about to touch the ground when the monk disappeared and everything else around them vanished; the town, the staircase, the sun…

Botan then fell flat on her face on a grassy ground.

Not really feeling any pain, she quickly got up and looked around and spotting the monk standing beside a tree, she stood beside him and directed her eyes at what he was keenly looking at while she brushed the invisible dirt off her nose.

From where they were, Botan observed that they were within a thick shrubbery which surrounded a grand, imposing, three storey residence which was dotted with equally imposing guards clad with heavy armors.

Tatsuaki-hoshi then stealthily followed the boundaries of the shrubs and groves which bordered the place and Botan followed him until they've arrived near a clearing behind the pagoda like building. The monk suddenly crouched down. Botan didn't.

She stepped pass the hiding monk and into the clearing. Her throat went dry as she walked on and finally came face to face with the lone woman in the garden; the beautiful Tamamo Utagawa.

The painting in the Houjin documents was an exact portrayal of the lady. Her ebony black hair and alabaster skin glowed enchantingly, her lovely face and her amethyst eyes which matched Botan's seemed to have existed only to encourage insecurity from women and men alike. She was a walking breathing example of physical beauty and when she stood up to peer at something beyond the hedges, her condescending yet natural grace added to her handsome guise. And as though her natural beauty was not enough, the expensive layers of silk which formed her regal attire and the gold headdress on her head had set her as the one of the most beautiful creatures that had existed in the living world.

Botan didn't know how to feel, she never expected to encounter Tamamo when she came looking for the monks' exhibit. She did feel a certain amount of apprehension at seeing her and standing near her but other than that, she felt nothing more.

But if at first she could not determine her feelings towards the woman, this was easily resolved by the scenes that ensued.

Botan looked on as Tamamo strode towards the edge of the garden then she watched as an expression of anger and disgust took over her beautiful face at the sight of something that she saw behind the shrub.

_Oh no., Tatsuaki-hoshi! _Botan thought anxiously and as she wondered what could be so wrong about a monk straying to his mistress house, a small girl whose light blue hair was arranged into a bun on either side of her head appeared from the shrub.

"Please don't call the guards!" The girl said imploringly.

_I-Is that…?_

Tamamo turned her back from the child, looking determined to have the trespasser caught.

"Tamamo-sama, I only came here to see you, I don't mean to do any harm. I'm not climbing the cherry blossom trees anymore…" The child continued and her little feet warily walked towards the woman and as she did, she unconsciously rubbed her left wrist which Botan saw had a slight bruise.

"See? Not a single leaf has parted from that plant I have been hiding in, I'm doing everything you want. I came only to visit, it's not wrong is it?"

Tamamo had stopped to listen to the girl's plea but her abhorrence for the presence of that small person in her majestic residence had been merely heightened; she had no allowances to spare the child and her pathetic whining. She turned her back from the girl and Botan watched as the latter followed.

_Stop! She's not worth all of this!_

"Mother please!" The girl cried and Tamamo harshly turned to face the girl.

"Do not address me as such!" She screamed and one of her hands had aimed to go down forcefully upon the small offender.

Botan attempted to run infront of her younger counterpart but the monk who was hiding somewhere in that very garden revealed himself and he instead pulled the girl out of Tamamo's way. A brute looking soldier and three ladies in waiting clad in their own beautiful kimonos came running into the garden upon hearing Tamamo's yell.

"Tamamo-sama!" Her servants called out worriedly as they looked on at the scene where one of the great family's advisers was down on one knee and a frightened blue haired girl was standing before their mistress.

Tamamo's clenched fist relaxed and with a graceful glance she faced the worried soldier. "Please leave us, there's no need for alarm, I am simply discussing with Tatsuaki-hoshi what must be done about this poor orphan who's temporarily staying at _my family's_ temple." She said reassuringly.

Botan did not miss the hidden malice in her speech but she watched as those words, which Tamamo has spoken in such a lyrical manner, create its desired effect.

"As you wish, Tamamo-sama." The soldier grunted and after bowing as low as his armor permitted him, he left the garden.

"You may all go." Tamamo then addressed her servant women smilingly and like colorful birds, they too left the garden as they continued chattering about some rumor they heard regarding a beastly demon.

The quick alteration in Tamamo's expression left Botan gawking. Her mother was a manipulative witch, a talented actress, and she had everyone tied around her fingers with her beauty and seemingly kind smiles. She had everyone fooled and when Botan looked at the girl and saw that there was a mixture of fear and yearning in her eyes as she looked at her supposed mother, she could not help but look away with disdain.

Tamamo faced the monk and the child again but this time her mien was unreadable.

"My apologies, Tamamo-sama." Tatsuaki-hoshi began, still kneeling on the ground. "We were occupied with the preparations in the temple that we were not able to watch over our ward. This will not happen again."

"You had better watch-over your pet, one of these days, she may never come back to that temple again. The hunt has started, the men might mistake your pet for a stray dog."

Botan heard the child make a small sound and even though it was difficult, she looked at her again. Young as she may be, she understood Tamamo's words as clearly as she had. She was nothing to her own mother, she was a nuisance, and she wanted her dead and gone; it was like watching an unfamiliar story that can be so easily denied but _she was the girl _and whatever that young girl felt at that moment had transcended through time and was brought to Botan… and she felt the pang of rejection first hand.

The child sniffed back the tears that wanted to fall from her eyes.

_That's right, don't cry! Don't give her the satisfaction of seeing you cry!_

"Oujo-sama…" Tatsuaki-hoshi whispered consolingly, bringing the child close to him.

The words did not escape Tamamo's hearing and she smiled haughtily. "Oujo-sama? Oujo-sama? You call this unnatural creature _that_?" She pointed and her devious laugh filled the garden.

Tatsuaki-hoshi straightened up and led the girl about four feet behind him; far enough from Tamamo's sharp tongue and iron hands but close enough so that he could reach her if they needed to flee. He then faced his mistress calmly. "We did not name her as you have commanded, but we must still address her based on her social rank, her birth right." He said quietly, preventing the child from knowing that in her mother's twisted way of not acknowledging her existence, she had decreed that she will not be named.

"What birthright? She does not carry the Utagawa name!" Tamamo said bitterly, her eyes set on the child behind the monk.

"Yes, that is true. But even if she does not, and even if the blood that runs through her veins is not half yours, she is still an oujo-sama through her father, Lord Shiro Satzuma."

Tamamo glared at her modest subject. "Your imprudence is ever increasing, monk."

"I only speak the truth, Tamamo-sama."

"So do I. I do not make empty threats. I do not ever want to see that child here again."

"I completely understand and I am grateful for you sparing us." Tatsuaki-hoshi bowed down and he slowly retreated to join the girl that was waiting behind him.

"Yes, you should be." Tamamo whispered. With one final look, she allowed the monk and the girl to walk on but her eyes suddenly narrowed and she called the attention of the monk again.

"Yes, Tamamo-sama?" Tatsuaki-hoshi turned, a protective arm was held infront the girl.

"The sanctuary, have you and your brothers found it?"

"Unfortunately, we have not. The temple archive holds quite a collection, Tamamo-sama, and the documents are, as you know… alive."

Tamamo gave the monk a disdainful look. "When will you ever run out of excuses?"

Though the monk was faceless, Botan saw that he seemed taken aback by the accusation. "But it is the truth, my lady. We are doing the best we can to find it."

"The sanctuary holds the future of this town, monk. You do want to see this town move into the next century, don't you?"

"Y-yes, yes of course."

"Then I believe you should double your efforts in finding the sanctuary instead of dotting over that wretched thing." Tamamo said, loud enough so that the girl could hear, she then left the garden, trampling what little hope the girl had for getting her mother's kinder estimation.

"You heartless-heartless woman!" Botan could not help but yell as Tamamo retreated to the luxury of her home. Even if she was just a part of the monk's memory, even if she was not really there; she must say what her livid heart was screaming to say.

The revelation of how uncompassionate Tamamo was, to her own daughter; a mere child who only wished nothing more but to see her, had left her boiling inside. She was beside herself; she had not felt hatred so strong for anyone before and as she tried her hardest not to be overwhelmed by such a venomous feeling, her surroundings began to change again.

They were walking back up to the temple and no one was saying anything. The monk and the girl was already ten steps ahead of her; the girl was taking the steps one at a time with great effort and as a likely punishment, the monk was not offering any help.

Botan sighed heavily and she tried to catch up with the two.

"You shouldn't go there again, Oujo-sama. Master Bunmei was really angry when he couldn't find you anywhere." Tatsuaki-hoshi gently said.

"I just wanted to see mother, why does she hate me so?" Botan heard the girl say in a small voice and although she's glad that her younger self had not shed a tear for that hateful encounter with Tamamo, she does not know whether she should feel sorry for herself or be angry that she had been so young and stupid to aspire for the heartless woman's affection.

Tatsuaki-hoshi did not answer but he finally extended a hand to the girl and he offered his back to her. The girl gladly propped herself on the monk's back but instead of being carried on his back like she always had, she was lifted to his shoulders and the added height made the girl hold on to her guardian's bald head.

"Don't cover my eyes Oujo-sama! We're going to fall!" Tatsuaki-hoshi feigned a worried cry and he leaned to his right as though he was losing his balance.

"I'm not covering your eyes! Stop wobbling about or we really are going to fall!" The girl squealed and when the monk leaned on his other side, a loud, mirthful laugh echoed throughout the red staircase that was so refreshing that even Botan could not help but smile.

_Silly me for being so easily pleased. _Botan thought lightheartedly, she knew that it was not simply the monk's good-humored jesting that made the girl laugh, it was because he made her feel truly valued and loved.

Botan sighed again and she could only guess that she'll be doing a lot of it until the memory ends. "If only I could have met you all…" She said wistfully.

* * *

><p>They got some guy's kimono in their backpack but aside from that, they have nothing.<p>

"Hey, I think I can sense something over here." Kuwabara signaled, waving Yusuke to follow him towards the dense part of the forest they have found themselves in.

Yusuke followed but he wasn't too optimistic about Kuwabara's lead. Like that time when they thought the eerie house was empty, and then they suddenly found themselves caught in a whirlpool of evil spirit energy—the woman, whoever she was or whatever she was, she has a way of concealing her spiritual presence very well, even from Kuwabara.

Suddenly, they heard something, like a pair of feet trekking heavily through a grassy terrain and Kuwabara mouthed that they wait. But Yusuke's patience was at its limit and though he was unsure what it was that made the sound, he strode to the direction of it, his spirit gun at the ready.

"Hold on, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled; they had no idea what more the woman was capable of doing and he half hoped that the thing that made the sound was nothing but a wild animal.

"Come out, come out you crazy bitch…" Yusuke drawled irritably.

"I don't think it's a good idea to call her that way, Urameshi…" Kuwabara warned warily as he followed Yusuke and summoned his spirit sword.

"I don't freakin' care, Kuwabara."

The two glared at each other; it wouldn't take much for them now to start channeling their frustrations to their fist and into each other's faces. But sense, and the urgency of their situation took over childish impulses and the two broke their stand-off and continued walking.

As they walked on, they suddenly noticed that the ground they were trekking had become muddy.

"Did it rain today?" Kuwabara couldn't help himself from asking.

"No." Yusuke answered impatiently. The sound they were following was growing fainter and its intervals were getting longer as though the thing creating the sound was getting weak.

Yusuke hastened his stride, leaving Kuwabara several steps behind him. Whatever they were looking for, he was going to find it and destroy it. Koenma never specified what he wanted to be done to those involved in the case anyways and besides, he's too tired to think about Spirit World justice and such, the woman pissed him off and since she's clearly the one who was conducting the resurrection, he'll destroy her and that'll be the end of it. If Koenma had wanted to take prisoners in then he should've opted for someone less rash, someone not him.

He was finally seeing some tracks on the ground when Kuwabara called out asking where he was.

"What the hell, Kuwabara! I'm right he—" He turned to bark at him but all he saw was thick wall of fog hovering where Kuwabara should be. He could hear him complaining about not being able to see and watched as his spirit sword flash within the fog.

"What's with all his mist, I can't see anything!" Kuwabara yelled. He waved his spirit sword around him like a fan, hoping it would disperse the fog that had suddenly crept up on him. It was so strange, he took his eyes away from Yusuke for just a second to pull his foot from the sticky ground but when he looked up, he was already surrounded by a cloud of odorless smoke.

_Shit! This is bad… It's her, It's got to be her! _Yusuke thought furiously and he looked around for any sign of the woman. "Kuwabara! Can you hear me? Just follow the sound of my voice and get the hell out of that fog!"

"W-what!? So I'm trapped here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've been running straight through this mist, Urameshi! I can't get out! I think she's here! I told you, you shouldn't call her a crazy bitch, now look what happened!"

"Hey don't blame—"

Yusuke bit his tongue. Right beside the fog, the apparition of the woman from the house appeared and she stood there like a bloody statue. Yusuke aimed his spirit gun at her for the second time that night but something was stopping him from firing. For a few moments the woman remained motionless, she just stared straight into Yusuke's wide eyes like a ghost screaming a silent message.

_What are you up to now? _

"Hey Urameshi! Are you still there?!" Kuwabara screamed from the fog. "I think I know how to get out of here, I'll try to use my dimension sword to cut through it!" He said somewhat jubilantly. He had no idea that their enemy was merely a few steps away from him.

Yusuke did not answer. Slowly, a sinister smile started forming on the woman's lips and the next thing he knew, Kuwabara was screaming.

"Holy craaaaaap! What the hell is this!?" Kuwabara's frantic cry tore through the forest. Yusuke was a split second away from firing at the woman when Kuwabara's body was pulled up from the mist and was thrown high, over the canopy of the trees and into the distance. It was as though he had been launched in the air with a catapult and he screamed wildly as he soared helplessly. A crunching sound then followed which told Yusuke that a tree broke Kuwabara's fall.

The smoke was gone and the woman began her attack on Yusuke.

"You persistent fool!" The woman growled as she left a deep gash on the tree that he hit with her bare hands, missing Yusuke's chest by inches. "Now that your protector is gone, how are you to fend for yourself now?!"

"My what?" Yusuke grimaced. He went around the woman and gave her a kick to the side of the head which she easily avoided.

The woman vanished but Yusuke could hear her voice coming from all direction. He was once again caught in the woman's playing ground; the trees, the ground, even the damp air was now her territory.

"Your human protector. Don't deny it, it's not something to be ashamed of." She said mockingly. "But it's definitely something to worry about—you are nothing without him! You are nothing without the pact!" She screamed and she appeared from one of the taller trees, lunging at Yusuke with her sharp fingernails.

Yusuke could have easily dodged the woman but he allowed her to get a hold of him. He knew that it will be a challenge to catch her, and to fight in the dark at long range was going to be difficult.

He'll catch her by getting himself caught.

And the woman did capture Yusuke; he choked as her long iron-like fingers slowly curled around his neck as though she was savoring every bit of air that she was taking away from him. Yusuke fell on his knees; the woman was surely strong—but she was not strong enough to genuinely beat him.

"Once I'm done with you, your human friend is next…" The woman hissed.

Yusuke looked up at her veiled face and her purple eyes. Her eyes were like gemstones which glittered with hatred and bloodlust but it had no trace of life in them. He wondered what she meant about Kuwabara being his protector and that pact thing but he had no idea what she was talking about or what to make of it at the moment, he's too busy looking overpowered.

A satisfied smirk suddenly formed on the woman's lips and Yusuke smiled inwardly; he must look so convincingly feeble that she truly thinks that she was defeating him. His eyes then trailed at the woman's chest. _I wonder what would happen if I grab those necklaces away from her? _He thought mischievously but after realizing that he could no longer feel his cheeks, he decided otherwise. _Playtime's over, I've got to look for Kuwabara after this. _He told himself.

Slowly, Yusuke began to stand up and he watched as confusion took over the woman's beautiful face. She then had that expression of fear again, the very same one she wore when Kuwabara accused her of being Tamamo Utagawa, that same expression that Yusuke had now learned to take as a warning that the woman will try to escape. But he wouldn't let her, not this time.

One of Yusuke's previously limp arms shot from his side and he quickly held the woman's wrists together, she tried to pull away and push him with a force equal to a wrecking ball but Yusuke did not budge.

"Release me at once! Spirit World slave!" She snapped and in an attempt to break free, she tried to deliver a kick to her captor's gut but Yusuke caught it. Infuriated, Yusuke drove his foot on the woman's leg and she dropped on the ground screaming madly.

"How dare you?! How dare you hit a woman?! Have you no sense of—"

"Oh shut up!" Yusuke bellowed back irritably. "I've said this before and I'm saying it again. I don't care if you're a woman, a baby or somebody's grandmother! If you attack me then I'll fight back it's just as simple as that."

"You really are a demon!"

"Well… I do try to honor my other heritage." Yusuke answered, tightening his hand around the woman's forearm so she wouldn't flee, he then aimed his spirit gun at her.

The woman's eyes widened. "You're going to kill me?! Aren't you going to have me delivered to King Enma? Didn't he order my capture?" She asked frantically and for the first time, she actually looked pitiful. If it were other men who had looked at the woman, Yusuke supposed they'd be ensnared by her sorrowful face and tearful eyes, but Yusuke was not like other men and he's not stupid.

"Junior was not very specific to his orders." He answered coldly. "And save your tears for the camera, I didn't kick you too hard, I know you can still use that leg to run, I bet you're just waiting for me to loosen my grip, aren't you?"

The woman assumed a serious face. "You have no idea what I can do, demon."

"Well I'm not waiting to find out." Yusuke said and finally, at close range and beyond the woman's belief, a ball of spirit energy was released from Yusuke's finger and it was shot right at her.

"Urameshi, what are you doing?!" Kuwabara suddenly yelled as he busted his way through the thick undergrowth. He finally found his way back to that part of the forest and he almost lost his mind when he saw Yusuke shooting a woman at point blank with his spirit gun.

Yusuke didn't hear Kuwabara's yell over the sound of his shot though; at the last moment he released the woman's arm and settled himself on the branch of a nearby tree so that he could move away from the likely explosion his attack would cause. However, that insubstantial amount of time that he had allowed the woman had been enough for her and she evaded the attack, fading like black smoke from the forest floor and reappearing again to laugh at Yusuke's failure.

The ball of spirit energy simply created a crater on the ground which Kuwabara almost fell into.

"Shit!" Yusuke cursed, he couldn't believe the woman's luck.

"Care to try again, demon?" The woman sneered.

Yusuke clenched his jaw. _Why is this woman so hard to kill?_

"Don't be discouraged my dear boy… or are you already giving up? What does King Enma do to those who go back to the Spirit World empty handed?"

"Shut up!" Yusuke yelled and he fired another shot at the woman. She avoided the second shot and in an effortless manner at that which sent Yusuke fuming even more.

The woman was not fast, Yusuke could see her every move like a frame by frame shot of a camera in burst mode but it was as though she could predict his next move.

Suddenly, inspiration hit him. He smirked as he poised his open right hand to his side. _Try dodging this! _He thought cunningly and with an ode to old school techniques, he yelled,

"Spirit Shotgun!"

All at once, numerous, glowing cannon ball sized spirit energies were fired from Yusuke's hand and that dark part of the forest they were in lit up with the attack, engulfing it in absolute destruction and chaos.

Kuwabara ducked behind the tree, avoiding getting hit himself and when everything has quieted down, he called out for Yusuke again.

"Did you get her, Urameshi?!"

"What the—how long have you been here, Kuwabara?! Couldn't you have given me a hand or something?!"

"You know I don't hit girls! Did you get her?"

Yusuke sighed. "Yes."

Kuwabara came out from his hiding place and he looked around noting the damage done by the spirit shotgun; it had left several trees scraped and abraded and there were leaves still falling from their branches. _Oh man… I just hope nobody goes here for dates… If the trees look like that, I wonder what happened to the—_

"Careful, you're stepping on her arm."Yusuke warned.

"What?" Kuwabara looked down, and to his disgust, he found his foot stomping on a dismembered arm. "OM MY GOD! Wha- what did you do?!" He asked in pure horror, he could feel the darkness around him spinning.

"Will you relax, Kuwabara!"

"Why do you have to end her like that Urameshi?" He asked dramatically and Yusuke just gave him a deadpan look.

"She was difficult to catch. And how am I supposed to know her arm would come off?"

Kuwabara covered his mouth as he felt his gastric juices rise to his throat. "Okay, just stop… woooo!" He exhaled forcefully, trying to figure out a positive standpoint to their situation. When he collected himself, he walked beside Yusuke and gazed down at the rest of the woman's remains.

Kuwabara felt sorry for her, he truly did, but on the other hand, the woman responsible for the killings was gone and the victims had been somewhat avenged. She's the one who's been gathering human teeth for the resurrection and now that she's gone, the resurrection will never happen.

Kuwabara sighed. Despite the unnecessary gore, the woman's death may just be the best thing that could have ever happened to their case.

But there was still one unanswered question that was swimming in Kuwabara's head.

"You know… We never really found out if she was Tamamo Utagawa." He said somberly.

"Hey, you're welcome to bring her body with us so you can compare it with the picture in the documents." Yusuke said jokingly.

"That's just disgusting." Kuwabara growled, folding his arms to his chest. "Why not just capture her though? Take her in for questioning or something?"

"We already know what she's all about the first time we saw her and with the centuries of secrecy and being in hiding under her belt, do you really think she's the type who'd play along in an interrogation? Besides, she's like Houdini or something, if we don't end her right here, we'll spend the entire morning hunting her down."

"Yeah, yeah… I get your point." Kuwabara grumbled. Yusuke was right but he just couldn't wrap his mind around what had just occurred.

For a moment, the two just stood there, mulling over things but not really thinking about anything. They could hear the wind blow overhead and the crickets chirping somewhere in the bushes; it was as though nothing happened. Silence did have a way of helping keep secrets and buying tranquility for those who need it.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Kuwabara asked.

"We bury her." Yusuke offered the most obvious answer.

From the body, their eyes trailed towards the crater Yusuke created with his spirit gun, they then started to get to work.


	18. Chapter 18  Pandora's Box III

Chapter XVIII

**Pandora's Box III**

From that faithful afternoon within the Utagawa residence and back into the temple, Botan watched the monks' memories flow like a clear untouchable stream and as though she was beholding a breathtaking play, she hang on every moment of it. Barely an hour had passed and she had witnessed how the monks had spent their days in the temple in a somewhat shortened version; she saw how they had worked hard to maintain the sacred building and its strange surrounding terrain and she also saw, with warm, moving gratitude, their sincere endeavor in overseeing the blue haired child's care and amusement.

At the end of one particular vision, Botan was able to see Tatsuaki-hoshi's face. He had one of those open, friendly appearances that naturally inspired trust. Compared to everyone else, he was jaunty, easy going, and based on how everyone was telling him how things must be done around the temple, Botan thought that he may be the youngest of the five monks and she wistfully supposed that it was him she had gotten her carefree nature from.

In the current memory that was being portrayed, Botan found herself sitting around a table inside a modest tea room with four of the monks, but as it was the combined memory of the four, she was not given the opportunity to see their faces. However, she could clearly hear what they were talking about.

"Why do you think she called for her? After all this time?" One of the monks asked worriedly.

"Is it too much to hope that the lady had… changed?" The other one asked and without a second's hesitation, the monk beside him shook his head.

"Impossible…" He murmured.

"It's a relief she had allowed Master Bunmei to accompany Oujo-sama in the castle. At least she will be kept safe." The last one spoke and Botan realized that it was Tatsuaki-hoshi.

"This is really most suspicious." The third monk spoke again.

"Yes it is." The first one agreed. "But think of Oujo-sama… we've never seen her smile like that before. We all know she had long wanted this... The number of times she had gone to that place alone, I can only imagine how happy she must be, now that her mother is the very person who had asked for her."

No one responded to the monk's statement but Botan could feel the uncertainty in the room and knew that the men were growing weary for the girl's well-being.

_So Tamamo asked to see me? I wonder what for? _Botan crossed her arms across her chest and pouted thoughtfully as she began wondering the same thing. She was also getting a bit irritated by one other thing.

_Why did I even agree to meet her… after what happened last time?_

Suddenly, as they all sat there looking grave, the door slid open with a faceless Master Bunmei standing on the other side.

Everyone rose to their feet but even before the master stepped into the room, questions were already thrown at him.

"Where is Oujo-sama?"

"Did Tamamo-sama detain her in the castle?"

"Did Oujo-sama ask to stay with her?"

"Why did she ask for her, Master Bunmei?"

Despite their marked concern for the girl, Botan could not help but smile lopsidedly. She wished she could touch them, speak to them and tell them that everything would be fine.

The newly arrived monk raised his hands. "Please, everyone… calm yourselves. Oujo-sama is outside. Tamamo-sama did not take her." He said with a steady composure then he took his seat with them. Botan had to move because she was sitting on his spot.

The monks allowed their superior some moment to settle in the room but there was eagerness and impatience in their aura which told Botan that they were keen on knowing what had occurred during the visit to their mistress' house. She too was dying to know what she and Tamamo has talked about.

Master Bunmei gazed at the tea that his fellow monks served him and after a moment's consideration, he lifted the cup from the table and he hovered it over his lips for some time. When he finally drank it, he did so unhurriedly.

The needless suspense was killing them.

One of the monks could no longer help himself and he raised his concern as Master Bunmei drank his tea.

"Master Bunmei, why did Tamamo-sama ask to see her? Is she finally ready to accept her as her own?"

Faceless as Master Bunmei may be, Botan saw him direct his entire countenance at the inquiring monk with an unseen severity.

"Do not be ridiculous." Master Bunmei said gravely. "That woman will never be capable of loving another creature beside herself."

"Then why did she ask to see her? What does she want?"

Master Bunmei looked down. "I had been asking myself the same question and I'm afraid that all the answers I had managed to presume do not incline with any pleasant prospects."

Silence filled the room once more, then the master continued.

"We were accepted inside the residence's great hall but Tamamo-sama specifically requested to see Oujo-sama and no one else. I was asked to wait in the hall while Tamamo-sama's ladies in waiting escorted Oujo-sama to another room. Whatever they have spoken of was kept between the two of them…"

"Did Oujo-sama say anything?" Tatsuaki-hoshi asked.

"No. It appears that she was asked to keep the subject of their conversation a secret. She told me that Tamamo-sama had inquired about her living conditions and her studies—that child is such a terrible liar." Master Bunmei explained, shaking his head.

One of the monks suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "She asked her about the sanctuary. That surely must be the reason why she asked to speak with Oujo-sama!"

"We must not be too hasty on assuming the content of their conversation, Otohiko-hoshi. Tamamo-sama has not made any inquiries about the sanctuary since two years ago. I believe she and the demon Nue had made some justifiable alterations to their pact."

A murmur of feeble agreement rose in the room which implied that the monks found it difficult to believe such an optimistic scenario.

"Your positive outlook in life never fails to inspire us, Naoyuki-hoshi." Tatsuaki-hoshi said jestingly.

"You can't deny that it has been peaceful for so long now though."

"It's always peaceful in the eye of a storm." Master Bunmei whispered meaningfully.

Botan sensed the grimness in Master Bunmei's voice and as she looked around the room, she found that although the other four monks appear to not take the idea of Tamamo's invitation to a private talk with her daughter as seriously as their superior, there was unease in the energy surrounding them. They believed she was being used to have something done, but what could it be?

Botan suddenly feared that her younger self had fallen victim to Tamamo's false regard and while sitting in the room she realized that she had her hands clasped together, and that she was praying, hoping that she will not witness herself abandoning the five monks and exchanging them for favors from Tamamo.

_What did we talk about? What did she ask me to do? And why didn't I tell it to these people? _Botan thought anxiously.

Little by little, the current scene in the tea room began to change and Botan held her breath knowing all too well that the answers to her questions will be revealed by the succeeding scenes.

Darkness was the usual sign for Botan which told her there was going to be a transition to a different memory, but when it darkened this time, light failed to show up and Botan was left to adjust her eyes to her surroundings. She stretched her arms out and she began walking blindly when she heard a noise somewhere not far from her. She looked around and caught a glimpse of a soft yellow light, glowing through a dark bookshelf. She edged closer to the source of light and when she went around the other side of the bookshelf, she found herself, the blue haired girl slumped on the floor, surrounded by books and scrolls and a small lamp with a tiny flame dancing at the tip of a candle wick.

_What am I doing?_ Botan wondered as she watched herself raise a scroll to the light, trying to read what was written there. The girl did not seem to find what she was looking for in that roll of paper so she carefully rolled the manuscript and placed it to one side. She then took another scroll from the box on her left; she spread it out on the floor and bent over it, studying the characters very carefully.

This was when Botan noticed that the girl seemed older. She no longer wore her hair in a bun and instead had it in braids. The kimono she was wearing was no longer the blue one too, she was wearing a long sleeping robe now, she must be around thirteen or fourteen years old.

Botan looked around. _Where am I? Whose memory is this? _She asked but the light from the lamp could not reveal too much detail.

Botan decided to sit down with the girl and join her in the gloomy glow of her lamp. She observed herself, at how absorbed she was with what she's doing.

It felt weird, to be looking at herself in a certain form. When she first saw herself as a small girl at the Utagawa estate, she did not have the time to study the girl, but now, as she sat there with the image of her past life, it was like looking in a mirror which was crystal clear and murky at the same time.

To Botan's surprise, the girl suddenly straightened up and her anxious eyes began scanning the darkness before her. It appeared that she had not seen anything that was a cause for worry but she began to quickly haul all of the scrolls on the floor back in box as though she was in danger of being caught. Botan looked around again and finally, somewhere in the shadows of that place, she spotted a figure hiding on one corner.

Botan turned back to the girl. She was dragging the box on the floor now with one hand as she held the lamp on the other. She saw the girl lift the light above her head and Botan's eyes widened at the sight of what the light had managed to expose.

They were in an archive, an archive which was much more spacious and grand than that of the spirit world. Aside from the bookshelves that filled the room, the wall of the archive itself was like a honeycomb of storage space; level after level of small compartments lined the walls and as Botan squinted her eyes, she saw that the compartments had reached the room's high ceiling and each small square compartment had scrolls stored in them; their golden knobs which protruded from the wall glimmered in the dark like starlight.

Botan was caught in awe by the sight and she continued gazing at the high wall.

There was a thud that made her look back at the girl and she saw that she was covering the box of scrolls with a sheet, she then ran out of the room through the maze of bookshelves and Botan was left standing in the dark.

"What was that? What was I looking for?" Botan wondered loudly.

There was a somber sigh at the direction of the hiding figure Botan saw earlier and she heard the person rise from his hiding place.

No light was lit but Botan could feel that the person was gazing at the spot where the girl had been.

The person spoke and Botan recognized it to be Otohiko-hoshi.

"She's looking for the sanctuary…" He whispered and Botan felt her insides squirm at the sadness of his voice.

"What is the sanctuary? What is it for?" Botan asked openly even though she knew that she wouldn't be getting any direct answers.

The monk's footsteps echoed and faded out of the darkness. Botan anxiously waited for the next sight; she expected another room to appear, a well lit one, or the temple's courtyard, or a scene with the monks but none of those came about. Instead, it was the same gloomy light from the blue haired girl's lamp that made its reappearance.

Botan's shadow danced infront of her and she wheeled around, finding herself again, slumped on the floor and poring over an old manuscript.

Before Botan could try to figure out what was going on, the vision vanished.

A mere two seconds passed and the same vision reappeared again. At length, Botan was left to watch a long string of that repetitive scene materialize and fade away before her. She watched, completely confused at what was happening, until finally, she noticed something about the girl's hair and clothes.

The way the girl's hair was arranged gradually changed as the visions passed her by, the color of her clothes too would change with every reappearance of the scene. Sometimes the girl would look calm, while in the other scenes she would look tired, even frightened. Botan inched closer to the vision even though the alternating light and darkness was making her a bit dizzy, she then directed her eyes back to where Otohiko-hoshi had been hiding. She failed to see anything this time, but still… he had to be there.

A sinking feeling beat Botan down to her knees. She had been going to the archives every night, looking for the sanctuary, whatever that was, and one of the monks have been witnessing her scour through the place continuously— and for some unknown reason, he had not told anyone about it.

The sanctuary had to pose danger for someone or the monks would not worry about it getting into Tamamo's hands, but if that was the case, why had Otohiko-hoshi allowed her to continue with this nightly search? Why hadn't anyone stopped her?

Botan closed her eyes, burying her face on her palms, not wanting to think of the worst.

_Maybe I'm not looking for the sanctuary, maybe I just like to read at night, or… or… _Her defensive reasoning faltered, losing to more factual thoughts. She was acting on something Tamamo had told her to do.

* * *

><p>Kurama pressed his hands on the bathroom's tiled walls as he allowed the water from the showerhead above him to rain down his bowed head.<p>

It had been a long night, but it was a most fruitful one.

The dagger now laid on top of his neatly folded clothes that he left on the sink, just on the other side of the opaque shower glass door. The fairly long trek back to the Aramata house had given him enough time to inspect the antique weapon and he was glad to confirm that the blade was indeed made out a demon tooth—the definite key to Nue's resurrection—and for that matter the dagger must never leave his side.

He turned the water off and he swept away his damp, crimson hair away from his face. He then grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower, facing the mirror that hung above the sink.

He wiped the steam that clung to the mirror's smooth surface and he met a partial reflection of his face; right then, what had transpired in the temple ran through his head once more-the temple guide's screams of pain, the feeling of his fragile neck on his hand, the sound of his bones breaking when his body collided with thick solid bronze—it all swam in his mind like a faint strip of gray smoke but again he felt nothing.

Perhaps his actions that night brought him a little bit of satisfaction, but nothing more.

Like an insignificant afterthought, Kurama easily shelved away the otherwise insipid recollection and he looked down at his wristwatch which lied beside the dagger. It was 2:25 in the morning, the entire house was still as quiet as he had left it which meant that he was the first to finish his assignment and arrive back at the house.

With water still dripping from the ends of his hair, he picked up the dagger and his clothes then he went to his room to dress, wondering how Yusuke and Kuwabara's mission was coming along.

As he stepped into his room, he momentarily gave a certain spot on the floor a look of abhorrence. He could still smell a trace of the maid's scent in his room and it riled him.

After putting on some clothes, he opened his windows allowing the crisp scent of leaves from outside to fill his room. He leaned on the window sill, picking up the smell of fresh dawn that the soft wind brought from the east; unsurprisingly, it had the opposite effect on him, much unlike the sickly sweet scent the maid had left.

The scent of dawn will only ever remind him of one particular person.

Kurama stepped back from the open window, he then picked up the dagger and wrapped it in a leather sheet. He tucked it securely on his side, underneath his clothes, then he went out his room, through the door this time, and paced the length of the hallway which lead to the living room.

He meant to go outside the garden and wait there until morning comes or until sleep catches up with him, but he paused, just outside the room beside the lounge, looking at its door as though the flowing image of the phoenix there had called his name.

On the other side of that intricate door would be the sleeping death deity and the thought of that simple fact sent Kurama's blood rushing, the same kind of rush one would feel when jumping from a terrifying height—at least he supposed that's how it must feel—he had never known the fear of heights, but it sure felt like he was falling.

His eyebrows met, harmless the sensations he feels towards anything that had something to do with Botan may seem, he was deeply troubled by it still. He considered the door, and everything that was behind it, he was then reminded of the white suitcase underneath the deity's bed.

Botan and her intriguing secret. His private little puzzle.

Kurama remembered telling himself that he had all the time he needed to discover what Botan had been obviously hiding from them for the past two days, but although now that he had quite a night tainted with the spiteful encounter with the temple guide, there was still that inexorable restlessness inside him that either needed control or encouragement—and he had decided to give in to his impulses before coming to Houjin.

Now his impulses were telling him to confirm his suspicion of Botan having an alternate purpose of being in town by taking a look at that white suitcase under her bed.

Get it all over with and end his confusion.

Without realizing it, he took a step towards the phoenix door, everything was still as silent as the dead; he could hear nothing but the sound of his heart, beating steadily in his ear. A feral shade of gold had tinged his emerald eyes.

All else forgotten, Kurama's senses zoned in on Botan's room alone, isolating it like a priceless target.

He reached out to touch the door but he stopped when a sound of someone's choked coughing shattered the silence of the night and his trance. Kurama turned to the direction of the sound and found the shadowy form of Shizuru coming in the hallway from the living room.

_I didn't even notice her presence there. _Kurama thought gravely, realizing his inexcusable lack of vigilance because he was too focused on something else.

He threw an acute glance at the phoenix door as Shizuru identified him in the dimly lit hallway and greeted him. _This is turning out to be a tricky game…_

"…looks like you've outdone Yusuke and my idiot brother." Shizuru said smilingly. "So… did you get it?"

Kurama weakly smiled back at Kuwabara's sister. "Shizuru-san…" He said warningly with his usual calm and gentle voice, quite opposite to how unsettled he was just seconds ago.

Shizuru got the message that Kurama did not want to talk about him successfully stealing a dagger from the Utagawa temple and she nodded understandingly.

"Are you alright Shizuru-san?" Kurama asked, steering the conversation to Shizuru's coughing lest she saw what he seemed to be doing there in the hallway, right outside Botan's door.

"Yeah I'm fine, I thought I'd get some fresh air since I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night but it seems 'fresh' does not agree with me."

"I see… Anything in particular woke you up? Did you sense anything?" Kurama asked, curious if Shizuru's notable spirit awareness picked up anything.

"No." She answered. "Anyways, good to see you're back. See you in the morning."

"Yes. Goodnight, I guess?" Kurama smiled.

"Yeah, goodnight." Shizuru said and she headed to her room, passing Kurama by who had not moved from his spot outside Botan's door.

Shizuru soon disappeared from the long hallway and the house was quiet again.

Kurama sighed, slipping his hands inside his pockets and leaning on the wall behind him. He suddenly felt exhausted, he felt somewhat drained, but not physically. He doesn't even feel sleepy.

_A tricky and arduous game this had become… _Kurama thought.

_But this is undeniably more interesting than taking the dagger from that pathetic human. _Yoko suddenly interjected.

Kurama did not answer but he knew, deep in the recesses of his mind that he fully agrees with his demon side.

The thrill of the moment lost, he decided to head back to his room as well, all the while thinking how long Botan was going to stay in Houjin and how long before he'd allow his curious little game to end.

* * *

><p>"Otohiko-hoshi, why aren't you telling anyone about me? About what I'm doing?" Botan asked helplessly as she waited for the darkness around her to be gone. At the back of her mind, she tried to suppress that part of her life's story which Nakatsu-san told her, the part which related to the death of the monks in their effort to protect her against the demon Nue, it was futile though and she was left to link that said story to what was transpiring before her; in the end, it led her to the conclusion that it was her who had brought the monks to their deaths; that she had to have betrayed them, that she had sided with Tamamo, and since Tamamo was not really the sort to be trusted, she still had Nue sent to kill her, and the monks died trying to protect a traitor.<p>

Botan shut her eyes to the frightful thoughts that were gnawing her mind. _It has to be me, it has to be my fault! It was—_

"Me!"

Botan opened her eyes to the sound of an unfamiliar female voice and she almost fell back when she found herself standing face to face with a young woman whose piercing blue eyes were staring intently through her. Botan stepped back and saw that the woman was wearing a set of simple work clothes.

"I'll take you inside the castle, I know a way where no one can find us." The woman said.

Battered with rather pessimistic suppositions of her connection to her guardians' death, Botan mustered what little hope and positivity she had left so she can try and understand what the new scene before her will recount. She looked around and saw that they were at the corner of the courtyard and the woman was speaking with Master Bunmei and Otohiko-hoshi. Master Bunmei was faceless; the strange interaction was his memory.

"Seiga-san, we only ask for information, we are not asking you to be directly involved in this. It will not only cost your post inside the castle, if we get caught, it will cost our lives."

The woman sighed. "Please, Master. I believe my sister's death was caused by that woman and whatever you are planning against her, I want to be a part of it." She said entreatingly. "Who is this girl you have mentioned? If she has no power to defeat the mistress and her demon then why was she to face them alone?"

The two men did not answer.

"She is a spy and you are to secretly protect her, correct? You said you must keep watch during her next meeting with the mistress…" She asked confusedly. Her eyes had gone from one monk to another and she paled as some other notion came to her mind.

"She's not an ally, is she? She is a supporter of that woman then?!" Seiga's voice rose angrily. "She really is quite remarkable, isn't she? To have everyone know of her crimes against this town and still have countless men and women lining outside her door, willing to believe everything she says and willing to do anything that she wishes."

Master Bunmei raised a hand to ease the woman's somewhat volatile temper. "Seiga-san, just because a person is not for one alliance, it inevitably means that she is against it and she is a supporter of the other side. There are always those who are caught in the middle."

"What do you mean?"

Master Bunmei disregarded her question. "Will you help us, Seiga-san? Can you give us information on how to get inside the castle without being seen?"

"But who is this girl you were referring to? Do you know her? Will you stop her if she really is a supporter of the mistress? As far as I know, monks are forbidden to take lives."

"We have no intentions of hurting anyone!" Otohiko-hoshi interjected crossly.

"Seiga-san, please listen-" Master Bunmei said calmly. "—the girl is not an enemy, however, she does not share your admirable principles against the wicked. This girl is more likely a victim… like your sister might have been."

With those words the young woman pressed her lips together and her expression softened. After being silent and looking momentarily uncertain, she spoke again. "My apologies, Master Bunmei… please don't blame me if I have reacted too single-mindedly towards your request." She said, in a low voice this time. "Whoever this girl is, though you may be not too willing to expose her identity, you sound like you know her very well. She is quite lucky to have you on her side." She smiled wistfully, but without another word, she bowed down and headed to the stairway leading down the temple.

Otohiko-hoshi shook his head gruffly, not too happy at being unable to have the woman oblige to their plea.

"Thank you for your time, Seiga-san." Master Bunmei bid the woman a polite farewell still. His tone of voice sounded unperturbed but his stance did reveal his disappointment.

Unexpectedly, the woman stopped on her tracks and she faced the two monks.

"I will be waiting in the market, we'll go to the estate from there." She said and she hurriedly went on her way.

Master Bunmei's face brightened in relief. "Thank you." He said almost breathlessly and Otohiko-hoshi was left to gape at Seiga; when he collected himself though, the expression on his face was unlike that of his Master, he was as stern and as unsmiling as he was when Seiga was being uncooperative.

_I'm meeting with Tamamo again… _Botan thought. She could feel an acidic pain stab her gut and the images unraveling before her seem to shift unsteadily. _No… I've had enough, I don't want to see anymore of this… I want to go home…_

She looked around, hoping that a door with a glowing 'Exit' sign would reveal itself within the vision but there was no way out—the memory was too strong, too persistent to break through. The monks have controlled everything; she was not inside any normal ghostly memory that she can easily walk out of, the monks have managed to create a psychic loop, a continuous, inescapable realm.

"Fine! I'll bear through it all then!" Botan screamed, but not out of frustration or fear; yes, she was afraid, but she yelled in the hopes of provoking herself to be stronger, more clear minded; afterall, her betrayal of the monks was not certain yet.

She turned back from the two monks and started patting her cheeks. "Come on, Botan. There's no turning back now. You have to be brave and…."

Another transition, and this time it was fast. Botan stumbled as she got down on her knees when thick wood beams started forming above her head, creating a dusty ceiling. She fell in a heap of moth eaten linens and rusty statuettes.

"Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed, thankful that she was not capable of feeling pain in her spirit form and that the memories are merely that; recollections of that past, real but simply illusions.

As she rose from where she fell, she realized that they were in some sort of storage room, she and two of the monks; a faceless Master Bunmei and Otohiko-hoshi.

"Your suspicions are too much for one person, Otohiko-hoshi." Master Bunmei whispered.

"I believe I'm merely being cautious."

"You see Seiga-san has kept her word, we are in the estate."

Otohiko-hoshi only grunted as a short reply, then he crouched down and started feeling for something on the dust ridden floor.

"But why all this trouble? Why not confront Oujo-sama?" He asked, confusedly, angrily without looking at Master Bunmei.

"Why didn't you? You were the first to discover that she was going into the library almost every night… for the past five seasons." Master Bunmei asked without a hint of blame or judgment.

"I didn't know what to do or say. I can own my assumptions but I can never accuse her, It's not right." He explained irritably.

Master Bunmei gazed at his valued subordinate. "What are you mad about, Otohiko-hoshi? What have you so worried?"

Otohiko-hoshi spoke with a contained bitterness. Botan could sense that the younger monk was trying not to lose his temper. "We have stood watch when the male Utagawa willingly and gladly fed his monster with living, screaming innocent townspeople. We have stood watch as his daughter took his place and do the same thing, in a more proficient and artful way. I will not allow myself to have, my own student, our ward, to fall into the hands of that conniving woman."

"Nor I." Master Bunmei said gently as he sat down on the floor with Otohiko-hoshi. "You are not worried solely about the Sanctuary then?"

Otohiko-hoshi sighed deeply. "I know you think I'm only looking out for the Sanctuary, but would you believe it has not crossed my mind for days?"

"Yes, I do."

Botan saw the younger monk clench His jaw. "But what would happen? If Oujo-sama hands the scroll to her?" Otohiko-hoshi asked grim

"You know the answer to that. You have said it earlier… we've seen it all... We are likely to witness it again. Houjin will once again bathe in the blood of the innocent, helpless screams will break in the dead of night…" The master prophesied in an apathetic tone as though he was used to seeing the sort of thing day after day.

Otohiko-hoshi looked down, obviously not wanting to hear more of his fellow monk's truthful words, he busied himself with finding a gap on the floorboards underneath him.

"…but you ask the wrong question, Otohiko-hoshi, it is not the question of 'what if Oujo-sama gives her the scroll', rather the question you should be asking is, 'what if she doesn't'?".

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**(='_'=) **hee-hee... I'm back., and good lord I don't know how to lamely excuse myself for this late update... I'm so sorry!*insert waterfall of tears here*

(*sigh* Imagine me digging a hole to bury myself in the ground right now-too embarrassed-it's inexcusable, the pull of procrastination and uncertainty was strong.)

**Danielle Winters**, thank you so much for your message, you're too kind., when i read it I felt truly encouraged, (^_^) -then I felt like hitting my self with a harisen coz I was slacking off (- . -)

**AimAnnieBuddy**, I'm in good health., (I think) Thank you for checking up on this story and having the patience to follow it still. Thank you! I can't say that enough.

Thank you **Kinishra22**, for following this story and for your continued reviews (^_^)

Thanks **middlekertz**! This may not sound right but I'm glad the story made you laugh :D (Kuwabara does rock in his own Kuwabara ways)  
>Kurama's part in this chapter was a speck but based on what has been floating around in my head for months now, Kurama would definitely be on most of the scenes on the next chapters. (maybe not much on Ch.19 but it'll surely start there).<p>

**xxBroken21xx**, thank you for noting the character interaction aspect stuff, glad to know I'm not unintentionally leaving anyone behind :)

Thanks **majo18**, I hope you aced that exam last month!

**EB** and **obsessed dreamer**: When I read your reviews, I'm like; "aww..." (^^,=)- thank you for that, I take that as one of the coolest compliment this story has earned so far.

Thanks for your review **heartluv**!

**Animoon**, sorry for the late update but I hope you enjoyed chapter 17 and this one. :)

Thank you for the reviews **sweetcanines and Taeniaea**! (^_^)

-and before I forget-, again, just want to give a quick hello to the very first person who reviewed this story (is that even allowed here? Ireallydon'tknow hehe...) Hi **Venessia/Donna Rossa**! I hope you're doing great! (^_^)


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